Crimes of Passion
by Agent Slash
Summary: A young woman named Song is abducted into the Triple Threat Triad, and must adapt to life as a professional criminal as she sinks deeper and deeper into Republic City's world of organized crime.
1. Book One - Chapter 1

You ready for this? No, seriously, are you ready to hear my story? This shit is not for the faint of heart. My story involves some pretty gut-wrenching stuff, so if you'd rather listen to a story about a bald kid with an arrow on his head who teams up with all of his friends to save the world, then go right ahead.

Okay, so if you've gotten to this part, that means you're here to stay. So let's take it back to the beginning.

* * *

The year was 145 AG. The scene was a dark street in Republic City where the air was so cold you'd swear you could icebend it. Even for a firebender like me, that was pretty chilly. And there I was, walking along the sidewalk in my gray overcoat on the way to Gan's.

I swear, his night club was the only place I could really relax. The comforting melody of the jazz band playing and the occasional drunk asshole with nothing better to do than to start a bar fight coalesced perfectly, creating the perfect balance of peace and excitement. I could never have just one of those things. All my life, I never understood how anyone could.

The city was quiet tonight with the exception of the occasional honking of the Satomobile horn and someone yelling, "Taxi!" It was so silent that it made you wonder what was going on inside rather than outside. There were probably a dozen different things going on within people's homes. Couples arguing, babies crying, people yelling at their favorite pro-bending teams.

The stillness had a certain charm to it, though. It made you feel kinda tranquil, even in a city like this.

As I kept walking, I saw some homeless guy hoveled down near the street corner begging for change, as was the case every night. It always filled me with a sense of pity to look at these people. Most of them were these old guys with gray beards that were smothered with grime and dirt, which means they had to have lived in some other nation before coming here. What must they have thought once they got to where they were now? Republic City had always been renowned as a place of opportunity and prosperity. And these poor saps had to find out the hard way that that wasn't necessarily the case.

Sometimes I wonder if either Avatar Aang or Fire Lord Zuko knew what this place had become. If they knew that their ultimate vision was nothing more than a gutter filled with crime.

I stopped for a second and gave the old guy ten yuans to get himself something to eat. Normally it would have been less, but I was feeling generous tonight. I kept walking as the guy said, "Thank you!" and I crossed the street.

Once I got to the other side, I had finally made it to Gan's. The stench of cigarette smoke hit me the second I opened the door, causing me to hold my nose as I made my way through the crowd near the front of the nightclub.

The place was packed with familiar faces tonight. There was the tall guy with the pencil mustache who wore the same gray suit every night and a fedora to match. I guess he thought it made him look cool. I had seen him in there plenty of times, but I didn't know his name.

Then there was the pretty ginger-haired lady who looked like she was an actress or something. She had this nasally yet kind of adorable voice and some kind of accent that I couldn't place. I couldn't remember her name either.

I turned my head to the side to avoid the line of sight of the next regular I saw. It was that debonair gent that I'd spent a night with once. He had slick, brown hair and, if I may say so myself, a rather impressive build. Boy, you don't know passion until you've spent a night like that. I would've loved to have spent more with him, but it turned out he had a wife. I'd never felt so bad about anything in my life. And unlike the others, I could remember his name. It was... uh, well, shit. I guess I don't remember. Oh well.

I finally got to the back of the club and seated myself at the bar. Without missing a beat, Gan's smiling face came up to greet me. Seeing that smile was always comforting to me. Gan was one of those guys who looks like he was born to be a nightclub owner. He had a bald head and a thick, black mustache that spread across the tops of his lips and a build that was somewhere between medium and large and he always made an effort to look as swanky as possible.

"Hey, child," he said in his ever-so-smooth voice. "How you doin' tonight?"

"I'm freezing my ass off," I replied. "It's so damn cold out there."

"Whatchu doin' out in the cold this late?" he asked as he picked up a washcloth and started wiping down the counter. "It's cold enough out there to give a camel yak hypothermia. You'd be a damn fool not to take a cab."

I waited a moment before speaking again; trying to word this as subtly as possible. "Well, I was, uh, just a block or two from the club and I thought I might as well walk. Why waste some money on a cab that you could use to buy yourself some drinks later on?"

"What were you doing just a few blocks down the street?" he asked without looking up. "Your apartment is all the way over-" he stopped wiping the countertop and slowly raised his head to look at me.

I couldn't help but smile devilishly as he looked at me. I knew he knew what it meant.

"Never mind," he chuckled. He picked up one of the glasses at the bar and started wiping it with the washcloth. "I'll tell you what, Song," he said. "You are something else. So what's this fella like? Is he nice?"

"Yeah, he's alright," I replied. "Nice guy, but he talks a little too much."

"I've never known any guys who lived in this area that were nice," he said.

"And I've never known any guys who lived in this area that weren't animals in bed," I said back.

"I didn't need to know that," Gan said.

"I'm just saying," I replied. "What is it about this place? Do you guys just all know how to do fuck down here? Do they teach you in school or something? Or did every guy who lives here immigrate from a place where they teach you how to do it really well."

Gan put down the glass and the washcloth and let out an exasperated laugh. I could tell I was making him uncomfortable, but in the way that friends do to each other that you don't mind.

"Are you finished?" he asked in a quiet, joking tone.

I responded by playfully slugging him on the shoulder. "I can't believe you let me go on for that long!" I said. "Do I have to tell you the positions we were in before you finally get me a drink?"

Gan went back and poured me a nice glass of scotch on the rocks. That means it had ice, for all you non-drinkers out there. I swear I'm not an alcoholic, but if I was ever trapped on an island and I could only have one think to drink for the rest of my life, it'd be scotch. Best stuff ever invented. He came back to the bar and set the glass down on the counter. "There you go, child."

I took the glass in my hand, raised it in appreciation, and took a gulp. By the way, even though you've heard Gan call me 'child' twice now, don't ever call me that. Ever. I'm twenty-five years old, dammit. I'm not a child anymore. Gan is the only person I let call me that. He's called me 'child' ever since we actually were children and for some reason it never bothered me. I guess it's because we've known each other for so long.

Then, as I took another swig of the scotch, I heard the sound of glass shattering.

I turned around and, sure enough, there was some stocky asshole with sideburns and a trench coat who had thrown his glass to the floor for some reason.

"Listen to me, dammit!" he shouted to the woman sitting across from him. You could tell this poor girl was used to this by now. The smooth blonde hair ran down her face in a way you could tell that she arranged it to hide the bruises this guy had given her. "I'm tired of you disrespecting me!" he hollered. "Who the fuck do you think you are?! Huh?! Answer me!"

"Baby, please," the lady said. "Can we not do this here?"

"Shut the fuck up!" the man barked. "Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking! If you didn't wanna go through this, then you should've just kept your fucking mouth shut!"

"Hey, hey!" Gan said, trying to defuse the situation. "Whatever this is, take it outside. I ain't having this in my club."

"Hey, fuck you, asshole!" the man shouted. "Just mind your own business!"

I took another sip of scotch and put down the glass, then started walking towards this guy. "I was hoping some asshole like you would stop by here tonight," I said to him as I cracked my knuckles. "I've been itching to give some lowlife degenerate like yourself a black eye all night."

The man turned away from his lady friend and decided to give me his full and undivided attention. "You've got some mouth on you," he said.

"You should talk," I retorted. "Actually, you know what? Stop talking. I'm sick of hearing your voice."

The man snickered and cracked his neck, presumably in an attempt to show off. "Oh, boy," he said. "You're gonna regret running your mouth so much once it's connected to a breathing machine." Then, like a wild boar-q-pine, he lashed out at me with a stream of fire, which I nullified with a swipe of my hands.

I shot back with a fireball in his direction, which he dodged.

Everyone else in the club hit the floor and took cover from the stray beams of fire that were being shot left and right.

The man came back at me with a fire whip, lashing it at me like I was some kind of circus animal.

I retaliated with a fire slash, which managed to knock him off his feet. I guess it wasn't that shocking, really. He was clearly too drunk to fight.

Everyone rose from the ground, relieved that there were no more fireballs being shot anywhere.

Boy, I gotta say. Taking that son of a bitch down gave me a lot of satisfaction. I mean, I saw guys like this come in here and do this shit all the time, but there was something about this guy that really rubbed me the wrong way more than the others.

I sat back down at the bar and finished my scotch with a nice sigh of pleasure. "That was fun," I said to Gan. "When do you think he'll get back up?"

Very soon, it turned out. Before Gan could reply, the man was back on his feet and, quite to my surprise and horror, he shot a lightning bolt at me.

Without even thinking, I threw my arms up in front of me and raised an earth shield to defend myself, which managed to stop the lightning bolt from reaching me.

Everyone in the bar, including the man, gazed in shock with their eyes wide open and their jaws all the way down to the floor.

Oh, yeah. I guess I should have mentioned that I'm also an earthbender. Confused? Well, let me explain. My mother was a firebender and my father was an earthbender and apparently I inherited both of their bending genes. Now before you ask, no this isn't a common thing. In fact, as far as I know, I'm the only person this has ever happened to. It's been like this all my life. I've been mocked for it as far back as I can remember. People have always called me freak, monster, etcetera, etcetera. You name it, then chances are I've been called it. I wonder what this asshole is gonna call me. I hope it's at least creative.

"Screw off, you freak!" he said as he ran out of the bar.

Guess not. Oh well.

I turned back around towards Gan, but I could feel everybody's stares from all over the bar. They were either still trying to comprehend what they just saw or they were just judging me. Either way, I decided I was tired of it. I took out my wallet and slid some yuans towards Gan. "I think I'm gonna take off," I murmured.

"I don't blame you," he said.

I stood up and made my way for the exit.

"Take care, child," Gan said.

I could still feel everyone staring at me all the way to the door. I was sure that at least one drunk idiot would mistake me for the Avatar. What would you think if you saw someone bending two kinds of elements when you had had that much alcohol?

I was once again bombarded by the unpleasant aroma of cigar smoke once I got to the front of the club. I'll never understand why Gan put the smoking section in the front. It was such a turn off to have cigar smoke be the first thing you smell once you walk in the door. Just before I got to the door, the blonde woman who that asshole was screaming at ran up to me. "Thank you," she said.

I turned my head and nodded. "Don't mention it," I said right before walking out the door.

To my surprise, once I walked outside, it had started to snow. The tiny, white flakes were already starting to stick to my wavy, black hair. Some of it was even sticking to my favorite red scarf I had on.

Luckily, this time I could call a cab. I stood out on the sidewalk in front of an alleyway and waited for one to drive by. Each second, the air got more and more frigid and I had to rub my hands together for warmth.

When is a damn cab gonna drive by? I thought. I knew it was a slow night, but this was ridiculous.

Before I could spot one, I was being jerked backwards into the alleyway by some punk I couldn't see. The next thing I knew, there was a bag over my head and I was fighting for breath as I kicked and screamed for help. Help didn't come, though. No one could hear, but whoever was doing this to me. Before too long, one of them socked me in the head and I was out cold.

* * *

Everything slowly came back into vision one bit at a time. The whole world was spinning and I couldn't get it to stand still. The dizziness was almost unbearable. If it had lasted just fifteen seconds longer, I probably would have hurled. Thankfully, it began to decrease as my consciousness came flooding back to me.

It took my eyesight a little bit longer to come back. For a minute or two, all I could make out was the shape of a man who looked like a shadow. He was ensconced in black from head to toe. His skin, clothes, even the rose he had in his suit pocket was an unnatural shade of black. If he was a shadow, he was the tallest, most muscular shadow I had ever seen.

Finally, my vision made its way back and I could see that I was sitting in a room with only a desk right in front of me, two chairs facing it – one of which I was sitting in – and the being that I could now very clearly see wasn't a shadow, but a man. A man whose coffee-brown eyes were gazing directly at me, commanding me to fear him. And that was no easy thing to do. I can't remember the last time I was afraid of anyone. He just simply stood there, exemplifying how much control he had by forcing me to wait for him to explain what was happening.

The silence lingered for a good amount of time while I sat there waiting. He just stood there by the desk without making a sound. I swear it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. After a while, I decided I couldn't take any more of the silence and that I needed to speak. The man in black, however, beat me to it.

"Do you have any idea who that was you fought in that bar tonight?" he questioned, in a deep, booming voice that somehow managed to sound calm and authoritative at the same time.

The only words my completely flabbergasted mind came up with were, "I have no idea."

The man in black took a step towards me and sat down on his desk with his arms crossed. "He was a triad enforcer," he elaborated. "One of our best."

The realization of what I had gotten myself into sent chills down my spine. Yet I couldn't help but feel kinda proud of myself. I tussled with a triad enforcer and won. That was no small feat. And it would certainly be something to tell my future grandkids one day. Well, if I made it out of here alive, that is. Before I could think about it for much longer, he went on talking.

"Do you understand what I just told you?" he queried. My silence must have been an indication that I either didn't understand or just couldn't.

"Yes," I said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he replied.

That wasn't exactly the response I was expecting.

"He could stand to be taken down a peg or two," the man in black continued. "And besides, anyone who can hold their own against Zolt has my respect."

So that was that asshole's name was. Zolt. What kind of fucking name was that?

"I guess you could see up close that he was a little fiery, huh?" said the man in black.

"Fiery?" I repeated. "He was more than that. He was quick. The guy was like a damn lightning bolt."

The man in black chuckled. "Lightning Bolt Zolt," he said. "I like the sound of that. I doubt he would, though."

It was so bizarre. Even though I was clearly his hostage, it didn't seem that way at all. It seemed like we were just two people having a friendly conversation. Like we both knew each other or something. I could only assume he was speaking to me this way so that I would let my guard down. That's when he would lay it on me and then I would be in a world of hurt.

He stood up from the desk and continued speaking. "It sounds like you put up a damn good fight," he said. "And like I said, I respect you for that." There was a pause before he said anything else and he knelt down to my level. "However, you attacked one of my enforcers and I can't let that go unpunished.

There it was. The bone-chilling statement that sent me into panic mode. My first response was a simple plea for mercy. "You don't have to do this," I said.

"I'm afraid I do," he replied. "How would the other triads respect me if I let you live after you attacked one of my men? You don't get to where I am by showing mercy."

I was thinking of as many possible answers to that question as I could. Then I was filtering out all of the bad ones and trying to pick one that actually worked and on top of that I was doing it under pressure. Out of fear that he would strangle me at any moment. Then something clicked in my brain and I spat it out instantly.

"I could work for you!" I said in a burst of desperation.

The man in black's brow narrowed and his eyes locked on me like he was an eagle hawk and I was a meadow vole that he was getting ready to swoop down and kill. "You work for me?" he said.

"Think of it as me paying a debt," I explained. "By letting me live, I'm in your debt. And I'm paying off that debt by working for you and doing whatever you want."

"Why, that's a capital idea," he said. "But why should I trust you?"

"I've got no reason to double cross you," I said. "I'll be loyal to you and you already know I'm a capable fighter."

The man in black folded his arms once more and nodded as he took this in. It was clear he was contemplating the 'ifs' of the situation, but judging by the expression on his face, I could tell that in his mind, the positives outweighed the negatives.

"Alright," he said. "We'll do it that way."

I had never been more relieved in my life. I swear to the spirits, for a second or two, I thought I really was a goner.

"But if you ever double cross me," he said. "You ain't gonna like what happens. You understand?"

"Yes," I replied.

In an instant, he took a completely new tone with me and spoke in a voice so gravely serious it was kind of horrifying. "From now on, you call me 'sir'. Is that understood, Song?"

"Yes, sir," I said in a voice so quiet it barely registered as a whisper. I hated showing weakness like that, but how in the fuck did this asshole know my name? Excuse me for being human for a second, but that was the most terrifying moment of my life.

"Good," he said. "I'm glad we understand one another. Now get your ass out of here."

Without a moment's hesitation, I shot up out of the chair and made my way through the door without trying to look to nervous. Everything in my body was telling me to get out of that room as fast as possible, so it was hard to slow down even a little. Then something occurred to me and I had to stop.

"When will you need me?" I asked.

"When the time comes, I'll send someone over to your apartment with a job for you," the man in black answered.

"And what's your name?" I inquired.

"My name is Kingpin Qin," he said. Without saying one word more, I walked out the door and down the hallway to the elevator. Kingpin Qin. I was speaking to the leader of the fucking Triple Threat Triad. _The_ Triple Threat Triad. These fucking guys were no joke. I don't know if you knew this, but these guys ruled the streets. I was genuinely lucky to be alive. I would be even luckier if I stayed alive for much longer, considering they now knew where I lived.

The elevator doors opened and I got inside. I pushed the first floor button and rode down with only my thoughts to keep me company. That wasn't really a problem though. I had so many thoughts going through my mind, it's a wonder my head didn't explode.

* * *

Three had days passed since the night I was abducted by the Triple Threats and I hadn't left the house since I got home that night. In fact, I barely even left my chair. The shock and anxiety of it all wasn't exactly easy to get rid of. In fact, for the entire first day, every time I got up out of my chair, I couldn't stop myself from shaking. At one point, I spilled milk all over the floor just trying to pour myself a glass.

The most terrifying thing was that I wasn't used to feeling this way. Fear had never really been a major emotion in my life. I mean, I'm not saying I've never been scared before. We all have. I'm just saying fear wasn't something I was used to feeling and certainly not on this level. I've dealt with two-bit hoodlums and crooks all my life and they were no problem, but these people were part of the triads. That was something different entirely.

After a whole day of having my body wrapped in a coat of goosebumps due to my uncontrollable shivering, I was finally able to come to terms with the situation. And the more I thought about it, the more silly it seemed to be as worried as I was. I could take any of em down in a fight if I ever needed to. I beat one of their best enforcers like he was nothing. I knew how to handle myself in a fight. But I already knew that. The main source of fear was the fact that these people knew who I was and where I lived.

That's why I hadn't left the apartment since that night. I didn't want them learning my daily routine. But I guess that was just one of those problems I had to learn how to solve on my own. The best thing I could think of was to learn the system. Find out how to play their little game and play it better than them. That's what I spent the second day doing. Getting my confidence back.

Today was the third day and I had spent the whole day laughing at myself and the way I acted. It's amazing how certain situations can bring out a side in us that we never knew existed. I gotta tell ya, it was pretty embarrassing, but thankfully you're the only person who knows about it. So how about you and I just keep this to ourselves? It'll be our little secret. Sound good? Great.

It was around 8 o'candle at night and I was in the kitchen of my apartment making myself some dinner when I heard quite an aggressive knock on the door. It must be time. I thought. I was about to partake in my first assignment as a gangster.

I made my way to the door, unlocked it, and opened it to see a man standing on the other side. He had a black trench coat and matching fedora as well as a crimson red rose sitting in his upper coat pocket and even though he was wearing a hat, I could tell he was bald. He also had what looked to be a small scar running up his right cheek and onto the side of his nose. He looked considerably older than me as well. If I had to guess, I'd say he was at least thirty years older than I was. "Are you Song?" he asked in a gruff voice that fit perfectly with how he looked.

"Yes," I said.

"Come with me," he said. Without waiting for any sort of reply, he walked away.

Having no other choice, I followed him out the door and locked it behind me. I wasn't gonna let those bastards break into my home.

I ran down the hallway to catch up with him, hoping I could get to him before he got to the elevator, but for some reason he walked right past the elevator and took the stairwell. I decided to follow him. Surely there was a reason he was taking the stairs and not the elevator. He had to have been leading me through some back entrance or something. Whatever the case, I hoped he had a good reason for making me walk down six flights of stairs.

I finally managed to catch up with him once we got to the second flight. "Hey, is there a reason we're going down the stairs?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "It keeps me in shape."

I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, so I just flat out let him know. "I can't tell if you're joking or not," I said.

"Listen," he said, clearly annoyed with me. "Can you please not speak until we get to the car?"

"Fine," I muttered.

This was shaping up to be one of the most insufferable nights of my life. I was gonna be stuck with the world's rudest mobster for spirits know how long and I was gonna be committing whatever heinous crimes he told me to. I had only spoken to him three times in the last few minutes and I could already tell this guy was a jerk. I mean, really, out of all the gangsters in the Triple Threat Triad, they had to stick me with him? He was so damn emotionless, I swear his gangster nickname must have been 'Deadpan Zan' or something.

At long last we reached the bottom of the stairwell and, just like I predicted, went out the back door into an alleyway. There was a light green Satomobile parked on the curb that was the most spotless piece of machinery I had ever laid eyes on. I guess this guy took great pride in his car.

We both got into the car, with the man sitting on the driver's side and me sitting in the passenger's seat.

Finally, the man spoke to me. "Alright, first thing's first," he said. "My name is Gun. I'm an enforcer for the Triple Threat Triad. And you are Song. The gutsy little bitch who had the balls to stand up to Zolt."

I obviously wasn't too thrilled with him calling me a bitch, which I guess I must have let slip with the look on my face.

"Hey, I meant that as a compliment," Gun said. "You don't have a pair of testicles and you still have more balls than more than half the guys in this city. That's saying a lot."

"Is that how you give women compliments?" I shot back. "By calling them a bitch?"

"I only refer to a woman as a bitch if she's done something stupid or reckless or anything warranting me not liking her and right now you fit into that third category, sweetheart," Gun replied. "Because you had to go and get yourself into trouble, now they stuck you with me."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means you better get used to seeing a lot of me," Gun answered. "Because they stuck you in my crew."

I didn't even try to mask how much that made me want to vomit. I was gonna be stuck with this asshole for the rest of my life until I got out of this mess? Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Something had to be done about that. "You've gotta be shitting me," I said.

"I'm not happy about it either," he said. "But like it or not, this is the way it's gonna be. Unless you wanna take it up with Qin."

I swear to you, in that moment, I could see a smug grin take shape across his cold, blank, expressionless face. He knew there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted to knock the man's teeth out, but I could tell that even with my fighting experience, this guy could take me down in seconds.

He turned the key in the ignition and the Satomobile came to life. Then he turned his attention to the back seat of the car. "Yin, why don't you introduce yourself?" he said.

I whipped my head towards the back seat and saw a woman with tan skin and a navy blue coat who was just as young as I was sitting there with her legs folded. I swear on my life, I didn't even notice she was there. She could have strangled me from behind and I never would have seen it coming.

"Hi," she said in a shy, polite tone. "My name's Yin. I'm gonna be coming with you guys tonight."

Gun pulled out of the alleyway and before we knew it, we were cruising down the street on our way to presumably make someone's life worse for a profit. Just what I always saw myself doing when I was a girl.

"So what exactly are we doing?" I queried.

"There's this guy down in one of the boroughs who won't pay up," Gun said. "We're going to take care of him."

It was then that I decided to ask what was likely a stupid question. "Can't we just give him a warning?"

"We already gave him two warnings," Gun said. "And he ignored them both. The boss wants us to take care of him, so that's what we're gonna do."

I figured it was best not to push any further for something that wasn't going to happen. There was no point in turning this into an argument. So we just rode in silence the whole way there.

The whole time we rode to wherever we were going, I couldn't stop trying to come up with a story for Yin. I ran through at least three or four in my head and each one of them involved her being recruited into the triad against her own will. The moment you laid eyes on her, you could see she was as sweet as a nice pot of honey. She was no killer. She was no extortionist or crook. Why was she here? It was gonna drive me crazy if I didn't figure it out.

I must have really gotten lost in a massive train of thought, because next thing I knew, Gun was saying, "We're here," and had parked the car. I looked around at the buildings around us and saw that we were all the way in the Dragon Flats Borough. That must have been at least a twenty-minute car ride. How could twenty minutes have gone by so fast already?

I snapped out of it when I noticed Gun was standing at my window and saw how impatient he looked. Yin was already out of the car too. "Are you gonna get out of the car or am I gonna have to drag you out?" Gun asked.

I got out of the car without answering and walked over to the sidewalk with the other two. Gun started walking and Yin and I followed him close behind.

"Now I want you two to follow my lead, got it?" he said.

We both nodded in understanding.

We stopped about four houses down from where we parked the car and went up to the porch. Gun gave the door a real forceful knock, which was evidently so loud we heard the sound of a baby crying from inside.

Oh, shit. This guy had a family. Things made things way different. Up until that moment when I heard that baby crying, I just told myself that this guy was a lowlife who nobody would miss. That was the only way I could really stomach what we were about to do, but now that was out the window. This guy had a family and if they were living in the Dragon Flats, that meant they were already struggling financially. What would happen once we killed this guy? His family could end up homeless.

The man who lived here swung the door open to greet us and his face was already sweating bullets. "Hi," he said. Not bothering to make small talk, he cut right to the chase. "Listen, I don't have the money right now," he said. "Just give me a little more time and I'll have it, I promise, but right now I just don't have it. I'm sorry."

"Calm down," Gun said. "Everything is fine. We came here to tell you that we've figured out a way to make this all work. Just come with us and we'll get this whole thing sorted out."

The man breathed a sigh of relief and started laughing as he calmed himself down. "Oh, thank the spirits," he said. "For a minute there, I thought you were here to kill me."

"The boss doesn't want it to come to that," Gun said. "He cares about all of his clients. He just gets frustrated when they don't pay up. I'm sure you can understand that."

"Yes," the man agreed. "Yes I can."

"Well, let's get on our way so we can all get to bed, eh?" said Gun.

"Sounds good," the man said.

The four of us walked back several houses down and got back in the Satomobile, with each of us sitting where we sat on the way down and the man whose name I never learned sitting in the back seat with Yin.

Gun started the car and we pulled off of the curb and got back onto the road. We drove about three blocks down until we took a turn into a darker part of the neighborhood that looked extremely shady. Even for the Dragon Flats. The man in the back seat didn't seem to care though. That idiot didn't recognize this was a trap when it was practically being shouted into his ears.

"So, where are we going?" he asked, casually.

Bang! The crackling fireball shot from Gun's fist into the face of the man instantly, splattering blood all over the car like someone spilled a bucket of red paint. At least the poor bastard had a quick death. And as horrifying as it was, I couldn't look away. All I could do was stare at the man's flaming head as it slumped over onto the window and think about how this was my life now.

Yin bent a tiny stream of water out of a pouch strapped to her waist and put the flames out. She didn't even look distressed in the slightest. Her expression read more like she was watering her flowers than putting out the flames on a man's head. Maybe she wasn't here involuntarily. Maybe I had read her wrong completely. This woman was an enigma to me and one that I would go crazy if I didn't solve.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that I was the only one who hadn't actually done anything and I became curious. "Why did you need to bring me along for this?" I questioned.

"To show you how it's done," Gun replied.

For some reason, in that moment I just got furious from completely out of nowhere. I don't know why. I guess seeing a man's head get blown off when you didn't even need to see it will do that to you. "How can you be so heartless?" I demanded to know.

"This is a heartless business, kid," Gun said. That set me off even more. Remember how I said that I don't like to be called child? Well, kid meant the same thing, so that was just as bad to me.

"How can you as a human just shoot a ball of fire into a man's head like that?!" I asked, in a voice more fierce than before. "That guy had a family! He had a wife and a kid! They're probably gonna be homeless now because of you and for what?! Because he didn't pay you crooks the money you don't even deserve?!"

"You better watch it, girl," Gun warned.

"What? Are you gonna kill me next? You gonna have her put the flames on my head out?" I said, motioning to Yin. "You heartless fuck."

"I do have a heart, Song," he replied.

"Oh, really?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do," he insisted.

"Name one thing you've done so far that showed you have a heart of any kind!" I screamed.

"I saved your life!" Gun shouted back, displaying any kind of emotion for the first time since I met him.

"What?" I said.

"You wanna know where you'd be right now if it wasn't for me?" he asked. "The bottom of a river! Zolt wanted you to suffer. He was gonna throw you in the river while you were still fucking breathing. I stopped him. I didn't wanna see someone like you die and I told him we could use someone like you."

"But Qin said that he was gonna kill me," I said.

"He wanted to look tough," Gun explained, nearly cutting me off. "He made sure you understood what kind of situation you were in and I'd say he did a pretty good job."

Now I was feeling guilty. This man had saved my life and the whole night I had been treating him with nothing but disdain. I may not have been able to figure him out yet, but there was one thing I knew for sure now. Gun lived by a code of honor. Now that I was thinking about it more clearly, he killed that man in the least horrible way. He could have easily done it in front of his family, but he chose to do it in a way that nobody would see it.

Then there was another question that dawned on me. "You said you didn't wanna see someone like me die," I said. "What did you mean by that?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you," he replied.

The car made a U-turn and the three of us rode away from the Dragon Flats Borough, each of us doing our best to put the horrors we had seen tonight out of mind.

* * *

Once we got back to Triple Threat headquarters, we immediately went in to see Kingpin Qin. It was weird facing him as one of his soldiers rather than a prisoner, but there we both stood along with Gun and Yin, talking about the crime we had committed that night.

"The deed is done," Gun said to him.

"Excellent," Qin replied. "You three are free to leave for the night."

The three of us exited the room and made our way to the elevator where we rode in silence the whole time. Once we got out and walked into the main lobby of the building, Gun turned to me and handed me a slip of paper. "Here is my business number," he said. "If you ever need to get in contact with me, call this number."

"Alright," I replied.

"And Yin, you know the drill," Gun said. "Next time I need you, I'll call."

"Of course," Yin said with a simple nod.

"Get some sleep, girls," Gun said. "We've all got a lot of work to do tomorrow." Then the man walked out the front door as if he had just finished a long day at the office and wanted to clock out. I guessed he had gotten to a point where this was normal for him and that I would eventually get to that point too.

As Yin and I walked out of the lobby, we happened to spot probably the last person in the world I wanted to see.

Zolt approached the both of us and it looked like he had brought a couple of his friends. That asshole must have known we were here.

"Well, look who's here," he said. "It's the firebender-slash-earthbender freak from the bar. And Yin, always so nice to see you."

"Likewise," Yin said bitterly.

"So, did you ladies just get back from a shopping spree or are you actually here for something important?" he said in the most condescending way possible.

I decided to cut the bullshit. "I know what you tried to do to me, Zolt," I informed him very bluntly. "How you wanted to throw me in the river while I was still alive. And I just want you to know what I won't forget it."

Zolt nodded slightly. "That's fair," he said. "But I just want you to know that I haven't forgotten what you did to me either. So you better watch your step, missy. Because this is a dangerous game you're playing and you don't have a lot of experience, so nobody would bat an eye of some unfortunate accident were to befall you."

I said nothing and instead stared intensely into those glaring, amber eyes of his.

"You dames have a good night," he said as he and his cronies walked away.

Yin and I went straight out the door and thrust ourselves into the frosty outside air. Yin started to walk away from me, but I just one more thing I had to say.

"Hey," I said, causing her to turn back around. "What's your story?" I inquired. "I've just been trying to figure it out all night and it's gonna kill me if I don't know."

I was disappointed when all she said was, "I don't have one," and walked away, leaving me alone on a dark Republic City street. I guess I would find out another day.

So, yeah. That's my story so far. It may not have gotten too intense yet, but believe me when I say that that disclaimer I put at the beginning was not a joke.

Republic City's criminal underworld is a dark place that most people are lucky to avoid. And then there are people like me who become buried in it so deep that there's no way out.


	2. Book One - Chapter 2

It's so funny how warped your perspective on something can become once you've seen it for what it really is. Ever since that fateful night I was brought into the Triple Threat Triad, I've seen quite a few of my favorite parts of Republic City a bit differently.

I can't walk by all of the quaint little shops anymore. It used to be I'd stroll by and smile at all of those adorable, hard-working old timers selling whatever it was they sold. Now all I see are a bunch of poor, unfortunate saps who are prone to getting the shit kicked out of them for not paying their 'protection' fees on time.

I can't stop by Yu Tin's Diner anymore either. I used to love eating there during special occasions. I'd go there every year for my birthday and treat myself to their roast duck which, by the way, is the best roast duck in the entire city. You haven't lived until you've tried that stuff. It's that fucking good. Now all I see is a place owned by sleazebags who have major connections with the Triple Threats. I only eat there now whenever it's a work-related dinner and I'm forced to go.

Tonight I'm having to go past all of these places as I walk through downtown. It's just my luck they're all on the route to where I'm heading.

And the worst part of all this is that now I hardly ever go to Gan's nightclub anymore. Ever since my encounter with Zolt, I've been too afraid to go back into that place. I'm worried some other triad enforcer is gonna be there and I'll end up picking a fight with him. And even worse, it may not even be a member of the Triple Threats. It could be one of those Red Monsoon guys or worse yet, one of the Agni Kais.

Kingpin Qin has a particular hatred for their leader, whose name I can't remember at the moment.

Tonight, however, I'm gonna try as hard as I can to go to Gan's and relax. That used to be where I was at my most comfortable and I'm hoping to channel some of those feelings tonight. I'm gonna need it. I was informed by Gun that today was my last time as an observer and that my first real assignment is tomorrow.

That's just great, isn't it? The day that I've been dreading ever since I got into this mess is finally here. I'm going to have to kill a human being. I've been called a lot of things in my life, but not a killer. I guess that'll change after tomorrow.

Sorry, but I'd prefer to just put all of that out of mind for the moment, if that's fine with you.

I approached the entrance of Gan's nightclub and went inside with extreme caution. Last time I was here, I was jumped by three punks from behind. I was going to make sure that this time, if any assholes came at me, I'd be ready. I may be a member of the Triple Threats now, but that doesn't mean I trust them.

I waded my way through the crowd of people, eyeballing them hard to make sure I didn't recognize any of them, until I plopped down in my usual seat at the bar towards the back of the club.

I saw Gan standing behind the bar a few feet away, cleaning a glass with a towel. His back was turned, so I decided to mess with him a bit. Suddenly my most childish, playful instincts kicked in and I spoke in my best seductive voice. "Ooh, so you're the famous Gan I've heard about who owns this place," I said. "You look even more handsome than I imagined."

Gan whipped his head around about as fast as a mongoose dragon chasing it's prey. You know, the way all men do when they hear an attractive woman say their name. I couldn't help, but take absolute delight in the mile-wide smile that took over his face once he saw it was me. He put down the glass he was cleaning and chuckled. "It's good to see you again, Song," he said. "How you doing, child?"

"I'm doing just fine at the moment, considering I get to see you again," I replied.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked.

"Scotch on the rocks," I answered. "Make it a double. I'm gonna need it."

"You got it," he said, making his way back to pour my drink. "So how come you say you're gonna need it?" he inquired.

Rather than give him the long run down of events that had occurred in my life over the past month, I decided to give him the short answer. "It's a long story."

"I've got time," he said, sliding me my scotch.

I picked up the glass and swallowed a sizeable portion of the scotch. Then, after a moment or two of pondering, I decided to spill the beans. I figured it was alright considering he already knew I was involved with the Triple Threats. Remind me to go into the details of that conversation another day.

"I'm going on an assignment tomorrow," I said. "My first real assignment. They're going to make me kill somebody."

Gan took a pause before speaking, mulling over his words carefully. He uncomfortably rubbed his mustache, clearly unsure of how to respond. "Damn," he said. "That's heavy duty."

"I know," I replied.

The awkward silence was slowly killing me by the second. I had to say something to justify what I was going to do tomorrow and I had to say it soon. I was afraid Gan was going to start judging me otherwise and that was something I wouldn't be able to handle. He was the only person I could always completely trust.

"Listen, Gan, I-" I began.

Gan interrupted me before I could finish. "It's not too late to skip town," he said. "You could run away from here and the triad would never catch you."

"You don't know that," I said. "And I'm not going to live my whole life in fear. Looking over my shoulder every second of every day, because I'm afraid someone might be a triad soldier. Besides, they may hurt you or my parents or someone else I care about as retribution and I can't allow that."

Gan looked at me with a defeated face. He knew there were no other options, but even still, he was desperately searching for one.

"Listen," I said. "Just promise me that no matter what I do, I can still talk to you." The unusual amount of emotion that leaked from my voice caused him to stiffen up like he was trying to hold back tears.

He clasped my hand in his and looked me dead in the eye. "I will always be here when you need me," he said. "You should know that by now."

I smiled and swigged down the rest of my scotch. "Thank you," I said. "Now, please, can we not talk about this for the rest of the night."

"You got it, child," he replied.

* * *

Twenty-four hours later, I was sitting in my apartment mentally preparing myself for what was about to happen. I figured it was best not to overthink it too much, but I still had to ready myself. My heart started beating ten times faster once I heard that knock on the door. It was time.

I got off my couch, threw on my coat, and opened the door to see Gun standing on the other side.

"Time to go," he said.

I nodded and stepped outside, locking the door behind me, and we made our way down the stairwell. I didn't want to seem too nervous in front of Gun, so I tried starting a casual conversation. "So, how has your day been?" I inquired.

Somehow, trying to hide the fact that I was worried gave me away just as well as not trying to hide it. A fact that Gun very plainly let me know.

"You don't have to try and act like this doesn't bother you," he said. "You wouldn't be human if it didn't."

It made me feel slightly better that I didn't have to keep up the hardened façade I was planning on slipping into tonight, but if there was one thing I knew about Gun at this point, it was that whatever he said next would pull me back into reality. And sure enough, that's what he did.

"However," he continued. "You're gonna have to get over that real quick, because there's no other option."

I hated him for a moment for reminding me of that all-too-grim fact, but he was right.

The next thing I knew, we were down on the first floor going out the back door towards his light-green Satomobile. I checked behind me to see if Yin was sitting in the back seat, as I had done every time I had gotten in that car since the night I met her, and saw she wasn't with us tonight.

Then Gun started up the car and pulled off of the curb, taking us wherever we were assigned to go.

"So at what point do I get to know where we're going before we start to head over there?" I asked, annoyed that after a month of this shit, I was still in the dark about all of our assignments.

"I meant to call you today," Gun replied. "I was tied up with something that shouldn't have taken as long as it did and I wasn't able to reach you. I came to your place right after I got finished."

"You didn't really answer my question," I pointed out.

"You'll have full disclosure on all of your assignments starting with your next one," he said.

"What if there's another time you can't reach me?" I asked.

"It won't happen again," Gun insisted. "I promise."

We rode in silence for about ten minutes until we finally arrived at a warehouse. It was a brick building that looked like it had been abandoned for at least a decade, which, to be fair, was better than the average run-down eyesore of a warehouse that looked like it hadn't been used for three times that long.

In the eleven seconds it took for us to walk into the warehouse, I thought of at least six separate things that could be awaiting me inside. None of them turned out to be correct. There were three men standing in the center of the room. One of them was a man dressed in a metalbender cop's uniform, tied to a chair with a swollen eye and blood gushing down the side of his face. The other two were the triad thugs beating him to death. One of them was a real bulky fella with a tattoo of a hawk on his arm and the other one was this really old fucker with a bald head and a thin, white beard who looked to be about ninety-years-old.

Just as we approached them, one of the thugs socked the cop in the face, causing him to let out an agonizing scream. "Who the fuck is it, you little shit?!"

"I told you!" The cop shouted. "I don't know!"

The bulky thug hit him again across the face, nearly knocking over the cop and the chair he was sitting in.

"I'd advise you to rethink that answer," Gun said as the two of us stepped into the center.

The three pairs of eyes all turned their gaze to us as Gan took center stage. He walked up to the cop and locked eyes with him as he spoke in his usual deadpan voice.

"Now I don't know how many times these guys asked you, but I'm only gonna ask you once. Somebody tipped off the cops about the hit tomorrow against the Agni Kais. Who was it?"

The cop said nothing as Gun continued to stare him down.

"Oh, spirits, did they break your jaw?" he questioned.

The cop shot Gun a confused look, followed by a simple, "What?"

"Oh, they didn't?" Gun went on. "Then why the fuck haven't you given me an answer yet?!" he hollered, scaring the living shit out of everyone in the room, including me.

With all his might, he shoved the chair into the ground, knocking the wind out of the cop and forcing him to take in a huge gasp of air.

"Fucking answer me!" Gun roared, igniting a flame in his hand.

Pissing himself with fear, the cop shrieked out the answer like a child crying after his parents discovered he did something wrong. "It was Yang! The head of the Pro-Bending League!"

The flame disappeared from Gun's hand and he took several steps away from the cop, who was now weeping on the floor. "That son of a bitch!" he shouted.

I was way too taken aback by Gun's outburst to even ask any questions. I'd been on seven assignments with this guy already, not including this one, and I had never ever seen him act that way before. I guess that's because I had never been with him during an interrogation before.

Before any one of us could say anything, Gun spoke up again. "Don't kill him boys," he said. "Song, sweetheart, it's time for you to get your hands dirty."

Are you fucking kidding me?! He actually expected me to muster up the will to do this thing I've been dreading after witnessing an outburst like that?! Second by second, the realization that I didn't have any more time to think about this hit me like a flurry of punches, each one more brutal than the last. I did as best I could to push my feelings of anxiety into the back of my head for a moment while I took two steps towards the cop.

I ignited a flame in my palm and prepared to open fire.

For a moment or two, I just stared down at the cop, who knew the end was coming and was now squirming all over the place, as if that would somehow help him survive a blast of fire from point blank range. All I could think about is if I was in his place. What would I be thinking? I'd be questioning how, out of all the turns my life could have taken, this was the one that ended up coming to pass. How unfair it was that it was me being brutally murdered by these triad hoodlums who weren't going to give my death a second thought.

Then, before I could come to the eventual conclusion that I had to kill this guy in order to survive, one of the thugs apparently decided he was tired of waiting and killed the poor guy himself, waterbending an ice spike through his eye. Gun stormed over to the bulky thug and decked him in the jaw, sending him slamming into the cold, hard ground. "Did I tell you to fucking attack him?!" he yelled.

"I was just-" the bulky thug said before being kicked in the stomach by Gun.

"Did I tell you to fucking attack him?!" Gun repeated.

"No!" the thug shouted.

Gun walked away from the waterbending thug and approached the old guy. "Clean this shit up, Lu," he ordered.

"You got it," said the old man, apparently named Lu.

"Come with me, Song," Gun said. I did as he instructed and followed him out of the warehouse.

The two of us got in the Satomobile and I asked obvious question number one. "What next?"

"We're gonna pay a visit to the Pro-Bending arena," Gun said.

Then onto obvious question number two. "You wanna tell me what all this shit is about?"

"The Agni Kais have been invading our turf recently," he elaborated. "We were gonna put a hit on one of their members. This asshole named Yai. He's a real hotshot who thinks he can muscle us out of our own territory. But somebody found out about it and tipped off the cops, so now we can't make any moves without them watching us."

"And the guy who owns the Pro-Bending League did it," I said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Gun responded. "Yang. I can't believe that cocksucker is working with the Agni Kais."

"So now we're gonna take care of him?" I asked.

"No. You're gonna take care of him."

That's exactly what I was afraid to hear.

* * *

Growing up, I always had such a respect for pro-benders. I would always compare myself to them whenever I got into a fight in the schoolyard, due to our shared ability to get back up after being hit.

And I'd always hear the team owners over the radio talking about how much they enjoyed bringing smiles to people's faces whenever they saw them attending a game. Who would've thought they were all crooks? I guess that all fits into the whole warped perspective thing I was talking about earlier.

Apparently, the pro-bending industry was filled to the brim with all kinds of people like Yang who were in deep with the triads and did all kinds of illegal shit. I still believed the players weren't in on it. I just had to believe that they weren't.

It was about ten o'candle at night when we waltzed up to the Pro-Bending Arena and made our way inside.

Almost everyone had gone home, but not Yang. Spirits only know what he was doing up there.

The ride up through the elevator was entirely silent until Gun said something to me. "I know you're probably mad at me for asking you to kill that cop after I shocked you like that," he said.

This guy could read me like a damn book. It was actually kind of infuriating.

"But that's how it's gonna be most of the time," he continued. "Whenever you kill someone, it's gonna be hectic. Whether it's a shootout or a one-on-one fight, it's gonna be chaotic and you'll have to do it in that chaotic environment. You won't have time to think."

I was tempted to point out to him that after tonight, there would be two separate incidents where that wasn't true at all, but in the long run, it wouldn't change his mind. He had been in this game for far longer than I had and if he believed that at this point in his career, then I wouldn't be able to just sway his opinion with a sassy remark.

We finally reached the top floor and got off the elevator. We stood facing a long hallway with a door at the end of it that had Yang's name on it, then started to walk towards the door.

This is it. I thought. I'm about to take my first life.

"You ready?" Gun asked.

I nodded and took a deep breath.

Gun kicked down the door and hurled a blast of fire at the wall. "Get down on the ground!" he yelled.

The man in the office ducked down behind his desk to avoid any more blasts.

The two of us ran over to the desk, each of us going to a different side in order to corner him.

As I saw him cowering on the floor, I noticed he was a lot older than I was expecting. Probably in his early sixties. He was mostly bald with some white hair on the sides. He just looked like the kind of guy who would be involved in something like this.

"Please don't kill me!" he pleaded.

"Whether or not you live depends on your answer to the following question: did you tell the cops about the hit we were planning on a member of the Agni Kai Triad?" Gun demanded.

"Yes, yes!" Yang said.

"Then we've got nothing to talk about," Gun said. "Do it, Song."

"Wait, wait!" Yang begged. "I'm not loyal to the Agni Kais!"

"What do you mean you're not loyal to the Agni Kais?" I asked.

"I had to protect Yai!" Yang said, on the verge of tears. "I had to. He's... he's my son!"

"Yai is your son?" Gun repeated.

"Yes!"

Gun took a pause before saying anything more. "Bullshit," he spat. "How come nobody knows your son is a member of the Agni Kais?"

"Why do you think?!" Yang replied. "Can you imagine what it would do to my business if people found out my son is involved with the triads?! Besides, he doesn't want people to know! He and Khan are both afraid if anyone knew, that I'd be an easy target!"

Gun's expression changed dramatically upon hearing that last sentence. "What the fuck did you just say?" he asked.

"Oh, spirits," Yang said. "I've said too much."

"Did you just say Khan is your son?" Gun queried.

"I... I..."

Gun motioned for me to follow him to the door and walked over himself. I went over and joined him, curious as to who they could possibly be talking about now.

"This changes everything," he said. "If Khan really is Yang's son, then we can't kill him."

"Who the fuck is Khan?!" I shouted, having been interrupted for the second time tonight while trying to focus on killing someone.

"He's the underboss of the Agni Kai Triad," Gun explained.

The seriousness of what nearly occurred struck me as I grasped the repercussions we would have faced for killing the father of a triad underboss. I'm glad Yang distracted me from doing my duty, because if he hadn't, we would have faced all-out war with the Agni Kais.

"So we can't kill him," I reaffirmed.

"No, but we can't just let him leave either," Gun said. "He'll tell them everything."

The two of us spent a moment considering the possibilities that still existed. Was there any way we could resolve this quietly? There had to be. Otherwise, I'd be partially responsible for the death of not just one person, but of countless triad members. Then again, would that really be such a bad thing? I mean, these guys were the scum of Republic City. It would probably only help improve the city of some of the higher ups were killed in the resulting carnage. Then again, the civilian casualties would probably skyrocket as well. That wasn't an option.

Then the lightbulb finally went off in my head. "What if we just take him hostage?"

Gun stopped thinking and looked at me, having found renewed hope that this could end well. "That's a possibility," he said. "But sooner or later, Khan is gonna find out that his father is missing."

"We can have Yang call up his son and tell him he's leaving town for a few days," I said. "All we need to do is hold him until we can figure out a plan."

Gun looked back at the frightened, old man, then back at me. "Okay. Let's do it."

We both walked back over to Yang and held our hands out like we were prepared to bend.

"Okay, you're coming with us," Gun informed him. "But first, you're gonna make a phone call to your son telling him you're going out of town for a few days."

Yang nodded and slowly picked up the phone.

"Try anything and you're dead," Gun added.

Yang dialed the number and put the phone up to his ear. All we could hear was his side of the conversation, with pauses in between. "Hi, son, it's me. I'm doing well. Listen, the stress of the pro-bending season is really getting to me. I think I'm going to go out of town for a few days. Of course. I just wanted to let you know. Okay. I will. Thank you. Goodbye." He hung up the phone and raised his hands in the air.

We led him all the way back downstairs and drove away with him in the Satomobile.

* * *

Khan was sitting in his office, having just sent for several of his associates to come to him. It was clear he was nervous about something, but no one knew what.

Three men entered the room. One of them his younger brother, Yai, the other two his enforcers. There was Mao, a stocky man in an overcoat with a thick accent and black hair with silver streaks scattered across it, and Saru, a middle-aged man with short, dark hair.

"Hey, what do you need us for?" Yai inquired.

Khan leaned forward and addressed his subordinates. "Something is wrong with my father," he said. "And I'm going to find out what."


	3. Book One - Chapter 3

"You did what?!" Qin roared, shooting up from his desk.

About two seconds before that, Gun and I had just delivered the news about Yang's capture.

"I know this looks bad," Gun stated. "But right now, this is the best option we have. All we have to do is wait this out for a few days until we come up with something."

"Do you understand what you've done?!" Qin shouted. "You two have created a situation where we all go down! If we turn him loose, he'll tell Khan and we'll have a war on our hands. If we kill him, Khan will find out and we'll have a war on our hands! How many ways do you want me to say it, Gun? There is no fixing this!"

"With all due respect, you're not thinking about this the right way!" Gun replied, raising his voice to just the perfect height that helped him reinforced his point, but didn't leak any disrespect. "If we turn him free, we still have a slim chance of negotiating a deal with the Agni Kais."

"A _very_ slim chance," said Qin.

"At least it's something," said Gun. "If we kill him, there'll be no compromise. They're gonna go to war with us and that'll be the end of it."

Qin placed his hands over his chin, carefully contemplating the safest course of action. Me and Gun sat there in silence for a good minute or two, waiting for him to make up his mind. Sure it was annoying just standing there waiting for him to come to a decision, but I really couldn't blame him. I'd do the same thing if I were in his position. If he didn't consider every possible outcome, think of every potential misstep, question every possible move and why it was the best one to make, then that would be the mistake that claimed the lives of however many soldiers died in the ensuing war.

He moved his hands up his face and wiped at his brow, before finally speaking again. "Alright," he said. "We'll hold him for now. I want someone guarding him at all times. And get in contact with your people."

"You got it," Gun replied.

"We don't make a move until I say so," Qin added.

"Of course," said Gun.

And with that, the two of us walked out of his office and made our way down the hall.

"That could've gone better," I remarked.

"That was nothing," Gun said. "Convincing him to hold Yang was the easy part. Now we have to actually make the decision whether or not to cut him free."

"I thought you said killing him wasn't an option," I said.

"It isn't," Gun responded. "But there are still certain things to consider. Do we just set him free or do we negotiate with the Agni Kais for his freedom? And either way, it's gonna take one hell of a good negotiator to keep this from escalating into a full-on war."

A full-on war. After hearing him say that for about the eightieth time, I finally did something I hadn't done since finding myself in this precarious situation. I imagined what my role would be in this seemingly imminent war.

Would I be out there carrying out hits on someone week after week? Would I be one of the people negotiating in order to guarantee our safety? Would they just keep me out of the action altogether and give me something boring to do?

I hoped it would be the third option, as I was in no rush to thrust myself into a situation this potentially dangerous. That's all I could do was hope. Hope that Gun or Qin or whoever's job it was to give me my assignments would keep me out of this.

Once I noticed we had gotten inside the elevator without me even realizing it up until that moment, it hit me that I was thinking way too much. I took a deep breath and cleared my head as well as I could. I couldn't afford to be stressing out. Not now. I just needed to assess the situation and ask Gun what out next move was in order to get a clearer understanding of what our strategy was.

"So what's the plan?" I asked him.

"Let me worry about the plan," Gun replied. "You just go home and get some rest. If I need you, I'll call."

That response wasn't gonna fly with me. I wasn't going home without some kind of assurance that there was a plan in place and this could all be worked out.

"You do have a plan, right?" I asked him. "Because, I tell ya, it sure doesn't sound like it to me."

Gun took a slight breath of agitation before replying. "I have a plan, Song," he told me. "I just don't want to get your hopes up if it doesn't work out."

"Well, I'm not going home tonight unless you tell me what the next move is," I shot back.

Gun turned his head and gave me a look that suggested he was about to tell me to go fuck myself, but I guess he had a change of heart at the last second, because he told me his plan anyway.

"I know a guy," he said. "He's an arms dealer. He says he can get me a very hot item that would be helpful to our particular case. Let's just leave it at that."

I wanted to press further, but I had a good feeling he wasn't gonna tell me anything else. At least now I knew he had something in mind. I bit my tongue and said, "Good enough for me," as the elevator doors opened and we walked into the lobby.

We made it all the way to the front door before Gun said, "By the way, you're watching the prisoner tomorrow," got into his Satomobile, and drove away, leaving me on the street without the chance to reply.

* * *

It was about half past noon and Khan was sitting in his favorite restaurant, reading the newspaper and waiting for his meal to arrive. It was Po Shi's, a great little diner in the middle of Linuki, which was the borough he grew up in.

As he sat in his booth, pondering to himself, he remembered the first time his father took him here when he was five. He sat him down and the two of them had a nice meal and at the end of the meal, he said, "Son, do you know why we're here?"

Khan looked up at him and said, "Because we were hungry."

Yang laughed and said, "Yes, that's true, but we could've gone to any restaurant for that. Do you know why we came to this one?"

Khan shook his head 'no' and he proceeded to explain. "Because, son, this is the first Fire Nation restaurant to ever be opened in Republic City."

Keep in mind, this was back during the very early days of Republic City. Before it eventually became the metropolis that it was now.

"Some of our ancestors did some very terrible things," Khan's father explained to him. "They tried to destroy the whole world until somebody stopped them. Ever since then, the world has looked at us as the bad guys. Whenever they look at us, they think of the people who almost destroyed the world. But look around you now, son."

With his innocent, five-year-old eyes, Khan gazed around the restaurant and saw all of the faces that were eating there as well. All of the faces that were speaking to their friends and telling stories about something that had happened to them that day.

"They look happy, don't they?" Yang said.

"Yes," Khan replied simply.

"That's because of this place," said Yang. "Now that the people who built this city have given all of us the opportunity to thrive, we can show everybody who we really are. That we're not bad people. We can move on from the bad things our ancestors did and build restaurants or companies or skyscrapers if we want."

That conversation stayed with Khan to this day. And he knew what his father said was true. Anybody could be anything in Republic City. So what did Khan intend to be? The motherfucking king, that's what.

At the moment, he was the number two guy in the Agni Kai Triad, but one day his boss is gonna keel over and die and that would leave the whole operation to him. And once he started running shit? It was gonna be his city and not even the Avatar would be able to run him out of town.

He looked up as he saw the waitress heading towards him and put his newspaper down as she handed him his coffee. "Thank you, sweetheart," he said to her as she walked away. Just as he took a sip, he heard the jingling of the bell over the front door of the diner and saw somebody walk in. They were the fellas he was waiting for.

One of 'em was a guy in his late 70s named Yashuko. He had combed-back gray hair with an assortment of wrinkles running all over his face and a short, silver mustache spread across his upper lip, which earned him the nickname, Silver 'Stache Yash. He was the boss of the Terra Triad.

The other was Ren, one of his enforcers. He was a dark-skinned guy with very short black hair, a black leather jacket, and a constant stare that would make most people uncomfortable.

As the two of them approached his table, Khan stood up to greet them.

"Hey, Khannie!" Yash said, affection filling his voice.

"Yash," Khan replied, stretching his arms out to my sides before both of us went in for a hug. "How are you?" he chuckled as they patted each other on the back.

"Oh, you know how things are," Yash replied.

The three of them sat down in the booth and continued the conversation.

"Where's your guy?" asked Yash.

"Pardon me?" Khan said.

"Y'know, the guy you brought with you," Yash clarified.

"You mean Mao?" Khan asked, referring to his own enforcer he brought with him. "He's in the bathroom. Why? Do I need him?"

"No," Yash insisted. "Not right now. But you always need a guy with you when you're meeting someone. That's just a simple rule of business."

"Of course," Khan replied. "Too many men in this business have died because they were stupid enough not to bring someone with them."

Yash nodded and then an awkward pause filled the room for about five more seconds before he finally decided to speak again. "So, anyway, how's your father doing?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Khan said.

Before he could continue, they were interrupted by the waitress, who apparently didn't care that they were clearly in the middle of a conversation.

"Hi, what can I get for you guys?" she asked the two Terras.

"Uh, I'll just have the komodo sausages," Yash said.

After writing down the order, the waitress' eyes darted over to Ren, who said, "Just a cup of tea for me."

The waitress scribbled it down and sauntered off back into the kitchen to place the order, walking by Mao as he came back from the bathroom.

He sat down next to Khan, greeting Yash as he did so. "Hey, Yash, good to see you man," he said.

"Good to see you, too, Mao," Yash responded. "Have you lost weight?" he added.

"Nah," Mao replied, waving his hand around as he did so.

"No, I think you've lost a few pounds," Yash laughed.

"Yeah, in my dreams maybe," Mao replied.

"Don't make me break out a scale!" Yash continued. "I'll do it!"

The two finally finished laughing, allowing Khan to resume the conversation they were having earlier. "So, as I was saying, I need to talk to you about my father," he said.

"What's the matter, Khan?" Yash inquired.

"Last night I got a phone call," Khan explained. "It was from my father. He told me he was leaving town for a few days. He said the reason was because the stress of the pro-bending season was getting to him. In the twenty-five years that he has been the owner of the Pro-Bending League, I have never seen him stressed in the slightest. My father loves his job and everything about it. If he ever takes a vacation, it is only under two sets of circumstances. The first is the week in which he goes to Ember Island once every year. The second is when it's a family trip."

"What are you saying, Khan?" Yash asked.

"I'm saying that someone – I don't know who – has figured out that I am my father's son and that whoever this scumbag is, they've done something to him."

From the moment he walked in the door, Yash had had a casual expression on his face. The kind you have when you're making normal conversation with a friend. Just that normal look on your face during that brief time in every day when you're allowed to think nothing is wrong. After Khan spoke that last sentence, his expression turned to one of utter seriousness. The gears were turning in his head and he knew what this meant. He had been in this business long enough to know what happened next.

At first, he tried to rebuff it, hoping that there was another explanation to all of this. "How do you know for sure? You don't have any proof."

"You don't need proof when you have instinct," Khan replied. "And my instinct tells me I'm right a hundred percent."

Yash put his hands together and brought them up in front of his face. He exchanged a glance with Ren, then with Mao, then looked back to Khan.

"Have you talked with Tang about this?" he asked him, referring to his boss.

"Yes," Khan replied. "He said if someone took my father, then he supports going to war. He already hates the Triple Threats. If they did it, then that just gives him an excuse to kill as many of them as possible."

Yash took a pause before he continued. "Alright," he said. "Say you're right. Say some assholes – some of the Triple Threats, the Red Monsoons, they've got your father. They're not gonna kill him. They know they can't do that. They'll probably try to negotiate with you for his freedom."

"Yeah, and unless they've got a negotiator who can talk me down from killing the sons of bitches who took him in the first place, then the moment they give him back, they've got a war on their hands!" Khan said, pounding my fist into the table.

Yash leaned back in his seat. Khan could tell he was frustrated with his inability to think of resolving this in a more peaceful way.

"And what are you telling me this for?" he asked. "I mean, I can guess why, but I want you to tell me."

Khan paused before speaking and leaned in towards Yash, looking him dead in the eye in order to insure his words carried the utmost clarity. "Because _if_ this escalates into an all-out war, I need to know the Terras have my back."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said.

"So? Do I have a yes?"

Yash let out an exasperated sigh. He was in a very tough situation and he knew it. His answer would have a major impact on him, each in very different ways. If he said yes, he would be risking many of the lives in his organization and throwing away the ten years of peace with the other triads that the Terras had worked so hard to maintain. If he said no, he would be going against his code of loyalty and there would be a moral issue at stake. He would be Yash the traitor and none of the other triad higher-ups would be able to trust him again. That could be very dangerous to him down the road.

He bit his lip, looked Khan in the eye, and said, "I'm with you."

* * *

Hey. It's me again. Song. Sorry about the shift in perspective. Hopefully that won't happen ever again.

I'd been sitting in the dim, Kafkaesque room in the warehouse that was holding Yang, since 10 o'candle in the morning and the whole time I was there, we had only spoken to each other twice. Once when he told me he needed to go to the bathroom and once when he had his lunch brought in and he asked me if I wanted the tomatoes on his sandwich. Never thought I'd see a prisoner be picky about his food.

It was now 3 o'candle in the afternoon and I was about to go stir crazy. How lucky was I to have to end up on guard duty? I mean, for fuck's sake, they couldn't have at least assigned someone else to guard him with me? Then I'd at least have someone to talk to. I didn't know if there was such a thing as a triad complain box, but if there was, I was gonna add this to the list of complaints. If there wasn't, then I'd just have to make one.

I thought about making conversation with Yang, but I assumed he probably didn't want to talk to me. Y'know, seeing as how I tried to kill him the other night.

Then something occurred to me that I had to ask him. "Hey, you're the owner of the Pro-Bending League, right?"

"Uh, yes, yes, I am," Yang replied.

"Do you know which teams are corrupt and which ones aren't?" I asked.

"Look, if you want information about which of the triads are paying off each of the teams, then I'm sorry, but I can't tell you," he stated.

"No, no, I'm not asking for them," I said. "I'm asking for myself. I promise I won't tell anyone what you're about to say."

Yang raised an eyebrow, rightfully skeptical of my intentions. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" he asked.

"You have my word," I said. "My lips are sealed. I just wanna know which of the teams I grew up loving are really corrupt."

Yang took a moment to ponder letting me in on what I assume was only one of many of his little secrets. It wasn't very long before he came to a decision and said, "Alright. Which teams do you want to know about?"

I decided to start with the ones that were the least important to me and work my way up. "The rabaroos?"

"They're clean," Yang said.

"The boar-q-pines?"

"They're dirty."

"The lion vultures?"

"Dirty," he said. "Although that really shouldn't come as a shock. Anyone from Lake Laogai has to be dirty in some way."

That was true enough, I guess.

"The hog monkeys?"

"Dirty."

"The pygmy pumas?"

"Clean."

"The armadillo bears?"

"Dirty."

This was the one I cared about most of all. The one that would make or break my faith in this sport as a whole and the one that would absolutely break my heart if they turned out to be dirty. "What about the elephant koi?"

"Oh, goodness, are you kidding me?" he said, in utter disbelief at the very thought. "They're the cleanest team in the whole league. They haven't accepted a bribe since the league formed."

The team I'd loved since childhood was the cleanest team in the league. What were the fucking odds? I guess I really know how to pick 'em.

"Am I right to assume they're your favorites?" Yang asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Being the owner of the League means I'm not allowed to publicly announce any favorites," he explained. "But I've always liked them the best. I'll never forget the year they won the championship. Were you around to listen to that game?"

"Yeah," I said. "I was ten-years-old when that game came on. I'll never forget that night. They were up against the boar-q-pines and I remember the boar-q-pines were the favorites all fucking year long. Every time I turned on the radio, I heard everyone saying how the boar-q-pines were gonna win. The boar-q-pines had more experience, they had better players, they had more stamina, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

"Yeah, I know," Yang chuckled. "I remember."

"I remember how close it was too," I recalled. "It was in the third round and the boar-q-pines' lead player, Toza, had the upper hand on Lin, who was the captain for the elephant koi. I remember I was in my room screaming because Toza had backed Lin into a corner and was pelting him with earth disks, but then I remember the radio announcer saying how Lin had managed to hit him with a water drill and knocked him off his feet. Then he sent him spiraling into the water and I hear the words, 'it's over! The elephant koi have done it'! I ran through my entire house screaming for a good couple of minutes until my parents made me quiet down."

"Yeah," Yang chuckled. "That was one of the biggest upsets in pro-bending history. And it was certainly a nice surprise."

I laughed some more as the memories poured into my head like lemonade from a pitcher and my head was swimming with nostalgia. Then I was quickly reminded of the thought that this man was my prisoner and my laughter faded away.

Up until now, I had thought of this man as nothing but a crook. A crook I didn't want to see die, but a crook nonetheless. Just another typical corrupt official in a position of wealth and comfort. But after having pulled back the curtain and seen the true Yang, I realized that he was a delightful man. A man who, despite knowing of the illegal activities going on within his organization, wasn't a bad man at heart. Just one doing what he probably thought he had to.

One thing was for sure now. No matter how this whole business with the Agni Kais was resolved, I hoped he didn't have to die.

I heard a knock on the door and both Yang and I threw our arms up to cover our faces once the door opened and the light burst into the room. Once my pupils adjusted to the light, I could see it was Gun and Yin standing on the other side of the door.

I went outside, closing the door behind me, and joined my colleagues. "So what's the situation?" I asked.

"We need your help with something," said Gun.


	4. Book One - Chapter 4

Two. Fucking. Hours. That's how long this asshole kept us waiting down by the docks. Me, Gun, and Yin had been waiting all fucking night for this arms dealer guy, whose name was Hito, by the way, to come down here and give us what we needed. Now the sun was starting to come up and I was really starting to lose my patience.

Oh, and after all this time, Gun still hadn't told me what it was that we were getting. Wasn't that nice? I was still being kept in the dark on my assignments, even after he told me I'd have full disclosure.

The only reason I was here apparently was in case things went south, which, as Gun put it, 'wasn't likely', so you can imagine why I was so annoyed.

It wouldn't have been so bad if Gun would've let me sit down. Then I could've at least thought to myself about anything I wanted to for a solid two hours. Would've been a great opportunity to organize my thoughts, but noooooo! Gun insisted that the three of us had to stand. It also would've helped if either Gun or Yin weren't practically mute, or if the damn gullbatrosses would stop flying over my head, but I guess neither of those things were gonna change since the universe just loves shitting on me!

Ugh. Geez, I'm so sorry if I sound like I'm complaining.

As I rubbed my half-closed eyes and released the scent of morning breath from my mouth as I yawned, I finally saw some guy coming towards us. Fucking finally.

The dude was black with a bald head and had a thin, dark beard running across his face. He was wearing a brown, leather coat and was carrying a wooden crate in his right hand.

He stopped just a few feet in front of us and gave us a toothy grin. "Gun, my man," he said. "Good to hear from you again."

Gun gave a slight nod and both Yin and I saw just a tiny bit of emotion leak out of his face in the form of a slight smile. "Likewise, Hito," he said in his usual deadpan voice. "You got what we came for?"

"Man, what the hell do you think is in this crate?" Hito replied. "The real question is, have you got the money?

Gun nodded and took a large stack of yuans out from his pocket. "Right here," he said.

"Alright, then let's do this," Hito said stepping over to hand Gun the crate.

"Now wait a minute," Gun said, putting the yuans back in his pocket. "How do I know what's in that crate is the real deal? What if it's a fake?"

Hito chuckled and put the crate down on the floor. "C'mon now," he said. "You know me! Have I ever double crossed you like that before?"

Gun's slight smile turned into a knowing smirk as he continued. "Yeah, I know you alright," he said. "You're my friend and we've known each other for a long time, but you're still a lying, duplicitous bastard and the day I end up trusting you is the day I've gone out of my fucking mind."

Hito chuckled again, having taken the insult surprisingly well. "Aw, man," he said. "You are one big asshole."

He lifted the crate and turned it to the left, showing all three of us the black ink that had been stamped onto the side. "You see that?" he said to us, pointing to the words. "That's the official seal. This thing came straight outta Ba Sing Se."

Gun pulled the money back out of his coat and handed it to his friend. "Alright. I guess that settles it," he said.

Hito took the money and handed Gun the crate. "I hope you appreciate how hard it was for me to get that," he said.

"I think the money in your hands will tell you how thankful I am," Gun replied.

Hito shuffled through the dollar bills and cracked a smile. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said.

Gun's knowing grin finally transformed into a smile. "Take care of yourself, Hito," he said.

"Likewise," Hito said as he turned around and walked away.

The three of us gathered around the crate and watched in anticipation as Gun prepared to open it. What was inside that was supposedly so effective and so difficult to find? Rock gloves? A pair of kali sticks? Was it just some kind of glorified sword?

Gun opened the crate and the three of us just stood there staring at nothing but an ordinary orange lantern. We spent all night waiting... for a fucking orange lantern. _No._ I thought. _No, no, no, no._ There had to be more to it than that. I wasn't just gonna believe that this incredibly important item that Qin was counting on to save the Triple Threat Triad's future was just an orange lantern.

"Anybody gonna tell me what I'm looking at here?" I asked. "Because it just looks like a lantern to me."

"It's more than just a lantern," Gun explained. "The Dai Li used these back during the war to brainwash people. They call it the Lantern of Silence, because they used it to silence any talk of the war within the city."

Huh. Well, now the pieces were starting to come together. I guess it's true what they say about books and covers. This lantern was no joke.

"So we're gonna use this on Yang," I said, stating what was already blatantly obvious.

"Yep," said Gun. "After we're done with him, the only thing he'll remember was being on vacation."

Well, shit. I had to hand it to Gun. He really came through on this one.

* * *

The next night was a lot better than I had anticipated. I thought for certain Gun was gonna put me on brainwashing duty, but thankfully he decided to give me the night off. And boy did I need a night off. I'd had more than enough life-threatening experiences for a lifetime in the last three days. Whether it was my life being threatened or someone else's.

I was sitting at home for a good while, just doing my best to take it easy. It wasn't very difficult at first. I just put on my most comfortable pair of underclothes, plopped myself down onto my favorite chair in the living room, and listened to the radio while chowing down on a bowl of noodles.

It was the semi-finals of the pro-bending tournament tonight and the komodo rhinos were facing off against the canyon crawlers and, from the sounds of it, boy was it a doozy. You could just feel the excitement coming from the announcer's voice, seeping out into my living room and making me feel like I was right there in the ring with each of the players.

Every waterbending jab, every slam of the earth disk, every roaring onslaught of flames. It really got my blood pumping. It occurred to me at one point that I was supposed to be relaxing, but fuck it, y'know? It didn't matter whether I was calm or excited, as long as it made me happy. As long as it took my mind off of work.

Once the match was over and the announcer declared that the komodo rhinos won by a knockout, the commentators started giving their analysis of the match.

I always loved listening to the commentators. Not because I actually wanted to listen to them, but because it was so damn hilarious to me that _anyone_ would want to listen to them. One of them would always say something stupid like, 'what do you think of the way he threw that earth disk, Lee?'. And the other one would say something like, 'I think he threw it pretty hard, Ping'. Like, yeah. Thanks, Captain Obvious.

But then the announcer listed off his panel of commentators for that night and, well, let's just say it was unexpected who they got.

"Joining me tonight is retired two-time pro-bending champion and former captain of the rabaroos, Ming," he started. "Former earthbender of the lion vultures, Shang," he went on. "And the owner of the Pro-Bending League, Mr. Yang-"

I shut off the radio before I could hear another word. Damn. Whoever they actually did put on brainwashing duty was fast. They already had this guy back on the street. I knew it was a bad idea to listen to any more of what they had to say. Just listening to Yang's voice again would undermine the whole night's worth of peace I had worked to build for myself, and would send me spiraling into a mood I had no desire to be in whatsoever. But then I thought it would probably be a good idea to listen to what he had to say. I had to know whatever memories they implanted in his mind just so I had the exact story straight.

I switched the radio back on and resumed listening to them speak.

"So, you went on a vacation this week," the announcer said. "Tell us how that was."

"Well, Pinglu, any vacation to Ember Island is just magical," Yang replied.

"Yes, I know," Pinglu said with a laugh. "Me and my wife take our boy, Shiro, there every year. It's so much fun. But you didn't stay there for very long. Why is that?"

Well," Yang chuckled. "I realized it was silly to take a vacation right when the pro-bending season is getting into high gear, so I decided to come back."

"Alright, then," Pinglu said. "Good to see you back."

"Thank you, Pinglu."

I shut off the radio and went into my room to put on something else. The only thing that could take my mind off of work now was to go to Gan's. The only problem was that I might run into another triad fuck like Zolt. _No._ I thought. I had to put that out of mind. I had been into that bar more times than I could count and only once, I'd run into some grunt like him. Those were good enough odds for me. I let my good thoughts take the cruise control, put on my coat, and walked out the door.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, I'd finally gotten to Gan's. I handed the cab driver a crisp stack of yuans, stuck my legs out of the cab, and stepped onto the sidewalk. My eyes quickly scanned the immediate vicinity, just to make sure there was no asshole planning to jump me. After the small feeling of relief washed over me, I walked up to the club, pushed open the front door, and made my way inside.

I walked past the foul-smelling smoking section towards the front and, as always, covered my nose with my shirt in an attempt to block out the fumes.

As I kept making my way through, I noticed there were two different types of people who were smoking the cigars. The ones who still looked cool while doing it and hadn't lost their youthful appearances yet, and the ones who had been smoking for so long that at this point, their faces looked warped and disfigured like some kind of ugly fucking spirit monster.

That's basically the main reason why I don't smoke. Because in two or three years, I'll have to walk around with a face like that. Granted, smoking a cigar does make you look cool, but not if you look like something that comes out of a scary bedtime story you tell to your kids.

Once I finally got into the non-smoking section, I took my shirt away from my nose, allowing myself to inhale the wonderful smell of the night life that I missed so much once I started working for the Triple Threats.

It didn't take me long to walk on over to my usual seat and sit down right in front of Gan.

Also, there was this really hot guy sitting right next to me. I mean, holy shit was this guy something to look at. He was an olive skinned guy with smooth, black hair that was combed backwards and the clearest blue eyes I'd ever seen. He also had just this rugged look that I've always loved in guys. He looked a bit older than me. I'd say by probably about seven or eight years, but that just turned me on even more. To me that was everybody's golden age. Everybody, men and women, all look their best from their mid-twenties to their mid-thirties.

Just as I was starting to fantasize about what I'd like to do to this guy, Gan's voice snapped me out of it.

"Hey, child," he said to me from behind the bar.

"Hey," I said.

"So," he continued, a hint of nervousness escaping his voice. "Did you... uh... y'know. Do that thing we were talking about last time?"

"No," I said. "I never got the chance to."

"Oh, thank the spirits," Gan said, letting out the biggest sigh of relief I'd ever heard in my life.

"Yeah," I continued. "Look, I came here to take my mind off of work, so can we change the subject?"

"No problem," Gan replied. "Besides, the show is just about to start."

"What show?" I asked.

"I've got this stand-up comedian performing tonight," Gan elaborated. "His name is Yoshi. He's supposed to be really good."

"Well, I'll be the judge of that," I remarked.

"Yeah, I'm sure you will," Gan laughed. "Excuse me, I've gotta go up there and introduce him."

Gan ran out from behind the bar and made his way up onto the stage, which, conveniently enough, was directly across from where I was sitting. He took the stage and stood right up against the microphone. "Alright, everybody," he said. "Put your hands together for the comedic stylings of Yoshi!"

Everyone in the crowd, including myself and the guy sitting next to me, gave a small round of applause as Gan walked back to the bar and the comedian took the stage. He was kind of a short guy with curly, black hair, a build a little bit on the heavy side, a larger-than-average nose, and a really noticeable double chin to top it all off.

"Hey, how you guys doin'?" he started. "Y'know the great thing about this city is that there are so many different kinds of people here. You've got non-benders, firebenders, waterbenders, earthbenders. How many earthbenders have I got in here?"

Normally, I wouldn't have raised my hand, but I figured since all the regulars here already knew I was a firebender and an earthbender, I just thought, why not? My hand went up, as did a bunch of other people's.

"Y'know, I'm not a bender," Yoshi continued. "But if I were, I feel like it would suck to be an earthbender. 'Cause I'd just be so pissed off that I'm the only kind of bender who doesn't have some kind of supernatural occurrence that makes my bending stronger."

This got a pretty big laugh from the crowd and managed to get a small chuckle out of me.

"I mean, it's not very fair when you think about it," said Yoshi. "All the firebenders have Sozin's Comet, the waterbenders have a full moon, and there was even that crazy shit that happened, like, thirty years ago or however long it's been now with the Brightest Hour or whatever it was they called it. I'd just be fuming, like, 'where's my supernatural event, huh? How come there seems to be one for all the other benders but me?'."

At that point, the crowd had become hysterical with laughter. I still didn't think it was that funny. I mean, it wasn't awful, but it was certainly nothing special either.

"This guy fucking sucks," said the guy next to me.

"I don't know about that, but he definitely needs to keep working on his material," I replied.

"Man, you guys have been a great audience so far," Yoshi continued. "I mean, really. You guys are more on fire than the air temples after the war started."

This got another pretty big reaction from the crowd.

"Okay, now that was terrible," I said.

"Yeah. No kidding," said the guy next to me.

"Although, at least there's no way you can offend anybody with that joke," I said. "Y'know, seeing as how there's only one airbender on the face of the Earth."

"I guess that's true," the guy laughed. "Doesn't excuse the fact that he's fucking awful."

"No, of course not," I said back.

The guy next to me took a sip of the scotch he was drinking, then turned back to me. "So what does make you laugh?" he asked me.

"What?" I asked. For some bizarre reason, I wasn't picking up the signals he was sending me.

"What does make you laugh?" he repeated.

Now aware of where this was headed, I went into flirting mode; taking out my fishing rod and doing my very best to reel him in.

"Why?" I asked him. "You think you could get a laugh out of me?"

"I betcha I could," he said.

"Oh yeah?" I goaded him. "How much?"

"I'll bet fifty yuans on it," he said.

"You seem pretty confident," I smirked.

"Is it a bet or not?" he asked.

I gave off a playful smirk and nodded my head to the side. "It's a bet," I said. "I'll give you five tries."

"Alright," he said before cracking his fingers. "Why can't Yuyan Archers ever have sex with someone?"

"Why?"

"Because they only like to nail people from a hundred yards away."

Motherfucker. I burst out laughing like a nine-year-old on the very first try. I was expecting to be able to hold out until at least the fourth try, but nope. The son of a bitch got me.

I leaned against the bar and started pounding my fist while I laughed, causing Gan to crack a smile.

"Pay up," the guy sitting next to me said.

I got out my wallet and handed him fifty yuans, which he snatched up and put in his own wallet, before taking another swig of his scotch.

"I see you're a scotch drinker," I said.

"Yeah," he replied. "Best liquid ever invented."

"I feel the exact same way," I told him.

"You know," he said. "There's a saying I've always gone by."

I leaned in real close and gave kind of a playful smile. Then I spoke to him in a nice, soft voice. "What's that?"

"If you're lucky enough to find a woman who loves to laugh, loves scotch, and is as beautiful as she is smart, then you should stop counting your blessings. Because you've found them all," he said to me.

At this point, the sexual arousal oozing out of the both of us was so high, it's a wonder we didn't just tear into each other right there in the bar.

Of course, Gan had to come over and put a big dent in it. He only dented it, mind you. He didn't destroy it. "So, if you two are, uh... done here, I'll just take the check and, uh-"

The man next to me took out his wallet again and handed Gan the money he was due. Before he put the wallet away, I was barely able to see the name, Ito, plastered on his I. D. Then it occurred to me that I hadn't even wondered what his name was up until that point. How stupid of me.

"So, you ready to go?" he asked.

"You bet'cha," I replied as the two of us got out of our seats. "See you, Gan."

"Take care, child," Gan said, rolling his eyes at me as he smiled.

I shot him back a smile and walked off to go get laid.

* * *

About fifty minutes later, I had Ito pressed on his back and he was thrusting harder than a dancer's pelvis.

I hadn't stopped moaning for twelve straight seconds, and each moan got louder and more sexual than the one before it. I could tell the moaning was turning him on, which made him thrust even harder, which made me moan even louder, all like it was part of some wild, euphoric, sexual cycle.

The moment he reached up and grabbed my breasts was the moment the both of us climaxed and the moaning turned into screaming.

We were rocking the bed more than a boat in a thunderstorm and I felt like queen of the whole damn world.

The neighbors probably thought we were psychotic, but I didn't care. I wanted them to hear. And something about them being annoyed made me want to scream even louder, so I let out one final cry of pleasure and the both of us stopped, panting like we had just run a marathon.

I laid down in the bed next to Ito, taking absolute delight in the sexual feeling that was flooding the room.

One thing was for sure in that moment. I wasn't thinking about work at all.


	5. Book One - Chapter 5

Mother of mercy. That was just about as amazing as I thought it would be.

It was the morning after I'd slept with Ito, and I was sitting in bed with my consciousness slowly coming back to me, still just thinking about how fantastic the previous night had been. I've shaken some earth in my day, both in the bed and as an earthbender, but never quite like that.

I yawned and stretched my limbs around in each direction, before hopping off of the bed and bending over to pick up my clothes.

Meanwhile, Ito was over at the closet putting his clothes on as well. "So how about you let me treat you to breakfast?" he asked, slipping on his white undershirt. "I make the best fucking egg white omelet you've ever heard of."

"As appealing as that sounds," I said as I zipped up my pants, "I think I'm gonna have to pass. I've gotta be at work by nine o'candle and if I'm late, my boss is gonna kill me." He had no idea how literally I meant that. And hopefully, he'd never have to know. This guy was everything I'd ever looked for and I intended to stay with him for a long time. I wasn't gonna let this triad stuff fuck that up.

"Maybe another morning then," he said, having gotten fully dressed now.

I raised my arms up and brought my shirt down around my body, letting it embrace my torso with its cottony touch. "You got it," I replied.

I made my way over to the door and grabbed my coat off the coat rack, wrapping it around me as well. Before I opened the door, Ito came up from behind and I turned around to face him.

"I want you to know how happy you made me last night," he said. "Not just with the sex, but just talking to you too. You've got so many broads in this city who are self-absorbed and shallow. I could tell last night that that's not who you are." He leaned in and gave me a peck on the lips. "Thank you for being different."

I smiled and kissed him back, and the two of us shared that embrace for a couple of good, solid moments. As the moments went by, my emotions were getting a little too riled up inside of me and I started to get kind of horny, so I broke away from the kiss before it escalated to anything more than that.

Then I opened the door and stepped outside the apartment. "Until next time, Ito," I said.

"Until next time, Song," Ito said as I swung the door shut.

* * *

So wouldn't you know it, I got all the way down to Triple Threat headquarters, and Qin told me I didn't even have to show up until ten o'candle at night. So apparently I missed out on a perfectly good omelet breakfast and a nice, pleasant morning with Ito for nothing. Geez, these fucking people. If they're not jumping you in an alley or making you murder someone, they're totally fucking up your social life.

I was sitting in the back seat of a cab, on my way downtown, when suddenly everything started to feel so much lighter. I had my head pressed up against the window, looking out at the sights this city had to offer.

We were passing by Republic City Park and I just looked through the glass at the numerous things that made the sight so beautiful. The leaves floating ever so slightly down from the branches they were once attached to. The cavalcade of various colors that came with them. The majesty of the trees and their branches that were bent in a manner that made you feel something euphoric, but you never really knew how or why. It really was a beautiful day outside.

And yet, as amazing as it was, passing by it made me a tad depressed. Not, like, a lot or anything, but it was sad. Passing by all that beauty, knowing you were a murderer in the making.

Normally, when I was in a mood like this, I would just go to Gan's and try to relax, but it was eleven in the morning, so that wasn't exactly an option. Instead I decided to stop and get some breakfast and try to organize my thoughts. It was the next best thing to talking to someone, honestly. I've always found that breakfast can be the most relaxing time of the day.

We finally got into the downtown area and the cab driver pulled up to the curb to let me off. I handed him the money and got out of the cab, stepping out onto the sidewalk and making my way inside.

The place was Fong's Diner. A classy little place that served amazing breakfast stuff, among other things. It was a little pricey, but I figured I owed it to myself to eat there.

I walked inside and the waitress came up to me with a menu in her hand. "How many dining today?" she asked. "Just one?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Alright, follow me," she said, leading me through the restaurant past a collection of booths and tables to a booth of my own. I sat down just as she laid the menu down on the table.

"My name is O-Ren and I'll be your server today," the waitress said. "Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"I'll just have a green tea please," I answered.

"Alright, I'll be right back with that for you," she said, walking away to carry out the task.

I just sat there reading the menu, trying to decide what I wanted. I figured it out pretty quickly and set the menu down as I waited for the waitress to come back. I leaned my face against my hand and darted my eyes back and forth all over the restaurant, just trying to kill time. I let out a rather loud sigh, then just moments later, I heard a voice from a few feet away.

"You okay? You look kinda down," the voice said.

I turned my head to see some guy standing right next to my table. He was a heavyset guy wearing a white, button-up shirt and an apron who looked to be about sixty or so. He had short, combed-back white hair and a handlebar mustache to match. He gave off a real 'friendly grandpa' vibe if you know what I'm saying, so naturally I just trusted him.

"How could you tell?" I asked.

"I've owned this joint for thirty years," he said. "I've seen enough people come in here with that same look on your face to know that it means you're upset. And it usually makes 'em feel better to talk about whatever it is that's got 'em down. Oh, I'm Fong, by the way," he added. "The owner, as you probably already guessed."

I didn't trust this guy enough to tell him exactly what was going on, mind you, but he seemed nice enough for me to tell him the basic situation I was in, so rather than spill all the beans, I just spilled some.

"Well, it's my job," I told him. "I'm not really happy with it."

"Oh, I've been there," he told me. "When I was your age, I was just a busboy. Cleaning tables and junk like that. So what's your job?"

I thought very carefully about how to respond. My response couldn't be truthful, of course, but I couldn't just make something up. It had to sound realistic. After a second or two, I just came up with something I thought was good enough. "I work in the mail room for a big law firm."

"Oh, I see," said Fong. "So you're just trying to climb the totem pole of this big law firm and end up as a big, hotshot lawyer, but they've got you down in the mail room paying your dues. Is that it?"

"Yes, that's exactly it," I replied. "The problem is, though, I don't exactly want to be a lawyer."

"I see," Fong said, stroking his chin.

"You see... my parents kind of pressured me into this job," I continued. "I never really wanted it in the first place. I don't really like the work these... lawyers are doing. They're sneaky and underhanded and, honestly, I feel like I'm working for bad people. And now, I'm a whole lot sadder than I used to be and I'm letting all this work stuff interfere with my personal life. Meanwhile, I'm young and I've still got this whole life ahead of me. I just feel like I could be doing something else."

Fong nodded in silence, stroking his chin some more. Then he leaned against the booth directly opposite from mine and began to speak again. "Well, uh... sorry, I didn't catch your name," he said.

"Song."

"Well, Song, here's what I'm gonna tell ya," he said. "Now you may not like it at first; you may not like it at all, but just hear me out, okay?"

"Okay," I said.

"You're gonna be stuck there a while," he said. "I don't know how long. It could be a year. It could be longer. But eventually, something is gonna open up for you, and it's gonna be something you enjoy. And once that something opens up for you, you're gonna move on with your life. You're gonna look back on these years you spent at this job feeling miserable and treat it as a distant memory."

It was so strange. I had absolutely no way of knowing if he was right or not. More than likely, he was wrong, considering he didn't actually know my situation. But something about this guy's optimism gave me hope. It gave me hope that I would somehow find a way to get out of this situation with the triads and that I'd end up living a normal life after that. I had no idea what I'd end up doing with my life, but who the fuck cared? At least I wouldn't be in the service of murderers like I currently was.

"Thanks," I said. "I think I'm feeling a lot better now."

Fong responded with a warm smile and moved away from the booth. "Glad I could help," he said as he walked back towards the kitchen.

Finally, the waitress came back with my tea and placed it down on the table. "Sorry for the wait," she said.

"Oh, it's fine," I replied. "It was worth it."

* * *

About twelve hours later, I was sitting in my apartment, waiting to hear the sound of Gun's fist pounding against my front door.

Then, at precisely ten o'candle, and I mean not one fucking second later, I heard the inevitable knock.

I made my way over to the door in about five seconds, and was surprised to see not Gun, but rather Yin standing on the other side.

"Where's Gun?" I asked.

"He's not coming tonight," Yin said. "It's just you and me." Then without saying another word, she walked out of the doorway and towards the stairs.

Well, that was just great. It was just gonna be me and Yin for the entire fucking night. With every step I took down the hall, the level of annoyance I felt grew higher. At least I had gotten used to being with Gun at this point. Any problems we'd had at first, I was accustomed to. But Yin was a completely different story. I had only been on two missions with her, and both times she barely said a word to anybody. Plus, I had no idea how good of a fighter she was. What if we got into a situation where I needed her help and she couldn't defend me? Or even worse, what if she just cut and run? It was variables like these that made me uncomfortable with the whole situation.

We made our way down the stairwell - because apparently no one in the entire Triple Threat Triad believes in taking the elevator - and found ourselves on the streets.

Yin lead me to the light blue Satomobile she had parked on the corner, which I happened to notice matched the color of the coat she was wearing.

As we got into the car, something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I couldn't tell who, but it looked like the shape of a person standing in an alleyway to my left. I turned my head and, in the split second I saw whatever figure I thought I saw, it disappeared.

Was I just seeing things? Was the paranoia I felt on nights like this making me see what I thought I'd see? Someone waiting to jump me from behind and end my life? I got in the passenger's seat of the car and forced myself to relax. It was probably just the paranoia. Even if I did see somebody, chances were it was just a bum poking his head out of an alleyway. Harmless as could be.

I put it out of mind we drove off, of course, without even speaking to each other. It wasn't until we got a couple blocks down the road that Yin decided to tell me what the plan was for the night. Well, after asking me a question first.

"Are you well-rested?" she asked.

I responded with a casual, "Yeah."

"Good, because we're gonna be up all night," she said.

Great. There went my chances of getting this over with quickly.

"So what's the job?" I asked.

"We're gonna scratch some names off of Qin's hit list," Yin explained. "Four to be precise."

Four? Did I hear that right? Did she mean four at the same time, like a bunch of lugs sitting around in one room playing a card game, or four individual targets scattered through different parts of the city? I mean, I don't know, maybe four wasn't that many, but that just didn't sound right to me, so I asked.

"You mean four separate targets all in one night?"

"Yes," she replied. "It's an all-night job, but it can be done."

Well, that settled that. I guess I really was in for a long night. Then, as silence reclaimed the inside of the car, my mind started to fill with questions. And all of them related to who these people were. I knew if I asked too many, Yin wouldn't answer me, so I just decided to keep it simple.

"Who are they?" I questioned.

Yin glared over at me. She seemed to be hesitant to tell me for some reason. "It doesn't matter who they are," she said to me. "They're targets. People who we're gonna have to kill. End of story."

I decided not to ask any more questions. I was only gonna get answers I didn't want to hear. So the two of us just rode in silence until we got to our first stop.

* * *

Our first stop was an apartment building down in Linuki, which worried me, because that was Agni Kai turf. I guess it didn't matter as long as we weren't trying to steal it from them. Still though, it worried me. That was the last thing we needed. Them getting pissed at us after all the shit we had to go through to prevent a war with them.

Yin parked the Satomobile on the curb and the two of us got out and started walking. We walked into the building and headed up, thankfully, only one flight of stairs.

All the way up, I was just hoping that whatever happened here - whatever situation we found ourselves in once we opened that door - that I wouldn't be the one to kill the person on the other side.

Once we finally reached the top of the staircase, we made our way down the hall, stopping at the third door down on the left. Yin knocked on the door and just a couple seconds later, it was opened.

We found ourselves staring at a rather muscular woman with her hair in a bun, dressed in a green kimono and wearing an emerald lipstick. Starkly contrasting with the rest of her appearance, she had crystal blue eyes and if I had to guess, I'd say she was probably about my age.

Her emerald lips formed into a smile and, to my surprise, she and Yin shared a hug for a moment. "It's so good to see you, Yin," she said.

"It's good to see you too, Miho," Yin replied.

The woman, apparently named Miho, turned her crystal blue gaze to me. "Who is this?" she inquired.

"This is my associate, Song," Yin explained. "She'll be joining us tonight."

"Can she be trusted?" asked Miho.

"Yes, don't worry," Yin assured her. "I wouldn't have brought her along otherwise."

"Nice to meet you then," Miho said to me.

"Likewise," I replied.

"I have my stuff packed if you're ready to go," said Miho.

"No, let's sit down for a bit," Yin suggested. "We've got time."

"Are you sure?" Miho asked.

"Look, it's been a long day," Yin said. "I promise we'll make it out of here undetected, but right now, all I want is to just sit down for a minute." The monotony never left her tone.

I could hear a bit of hesitation in Miho's voice, but nonetheless, she agreed. "Alright then. Come in," she said, motioning for us to come inside.

"Thank you, Miho," said Yin. "I promise this'll only take a minute."

The two of us stepped inside and hung our coats up on the coat rack by the door.

The living room of Miho's apartment was a simple enough place. Just a couch, two chairs, and a table in the middle. Next to one of the chairs were a bunch of suitcases, which I assumed contained all of Miho's things. Yin and I each took a seat in one of the chairs, while Miho plopped down on the couch.

At this point, I was just trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. What exactly had Yin told this woman? What impression was she under? And most importantly, who was she? Was this all an act or was there something Yin hadn't told me? I just decided to talk as little as possible and listen to their conversation.

"So how has your day been?" Miho asked.

"Long," said Yin. "I've been making all the final arrangements and whatnot for this trip."

"I can't thank you enough for doing this by the way," said Miho. "How fucking lucky am I to have not only found someone that could get me to safety, but someone in your organization. Someone who has all the information about when your guys are gonna strike."

"That's what they think we're doing now," Yin said. "Whacking you."

That statement sent shockwaves of anxiety jolting through my body. What the fuck had Yin gotten me into, because this was sounding more and more like she was betraying the triad by the second. Or maybe this was all a trick. Maybe I was the one getting bumped off. I had no idea why they would try to do that, but it was possible, considering the circumstances that got me into the triad in the first place.

I kept listening and told myself that if there were any signs of imminent danger, I would act.

"So after we leave and you vanish, they'll think you're dead," Yin continued.

"And you're sure they won't check the river?" Miho asked.

"No," said Yin. "They never check. They're too lazy to check."

"Well, thanks again," Miho said. "And thank you too, Song," she said to me. "I can't imagine how risky this is for both of you."

"No problem," said Yin, leaning back in her chair. "Now I've got a question for you," she asked. "And I mean this seriously. I genuinely want to know. Was all this worth you not throwing that match? I mean, you'd never thrown a match before. Ever. Most people we deal with get asked to throw matches every other day and they get tired of it. That's why they eventually do what we tell them not to and end up winning. You knew the risks of crossing the Triple Threat Triad and it's not like one loss would've damaged your career either. So why'd you do it?"

Miho leaned forward and looked Yin directly in the eye. "Because I'm not a loser, Yin," she said. "In fact, I'm quite the opposite. I'm the best pro-bending player this city's ever seen. When they're little, everyone has something they wanna be the best at when they grow up. Something they spend their whole lives putting blood, sweat, and tears into trying to achieve. For me, it's pro-bending. One day, they're gonna put my name on the front of that arena and there's gonna be a statue in my honor. And when they talk about all the pro-bending legends this city has had to offer, they're gonna say that Miho was the best. They're gonna talk about how she never lost a match. How she never took a bribe from any of the triads and how, in the end, her spirit and her determination paid off, and at such a young age on top of it."

"Then why'd you say yes to our bribe?" Yin asked.

"I don't know," Miho answered. "I guess I was too scared to say no. I guess I thought I could just swallow my pride and take just one fall and be done with it. But when they called our names and I went out under those lights and heard all the fans cheering, I remembered who I was. I knew this was the moment that would define my legacy."

I can't believe I didn't recognize her sooner. The woman we were speaking to was the leader of the Red Sands Rabaroos. And, like she said, she was one of the best pro-benders in the entire Pro-Bending League. I'd hardly ever seen her before, because I only ever listened to the matches on the radio. I guess the name just didn't register until she started talking about pro-bending.

"Don't worry, Miho," Yin said. "I'm sure they'll remember you fondly."

"Thanks, Yin," Miho said. She leaned back in her couch and released a rather loud yawn from within her throat. "So, anyway, I've had the craziest day today. I had to come up with a cover story for my pare-"

Whack! Yin sent an icicle whizzing towards Yin, penetrating her eye, as well as the back of the couch, and emitting a mad spurt of blood from her face.

As the crimson liquid poured out of her face, I watched in horror as she tried to finish the words she was speaking, her brain not having caught up with the rest of her. "I... told them... I..."

Then she slumped over on her couch as any traces of her life vanished completely. Now she had a crystal blue spike made of ice to match her eyes. Or at least, the one she still had left. So basically, that more or less proved I was a hundred percent wrong about Yin being a traitor.

Right as the blood started to pour onto the couch, we heard a knock at the door. Yin got up and answered it, to see Lu on the other side. The old guy who was there the night we took Yang hostage.

"Thanks for showing up on time," Yin said.

"You said to be here at ten forty-five, I'm here at ten forty-five," Lu said.

"Come on, Song," Yin said to me as she walked out of the apartment. "We've gotta go." I shot up from my chair and walked as fast as I could out the door, almost knocking Lu over as I tried to catch up to Yin.

"That was a really great strategy, Yin," I said to her, my hushed voice coated in an armor made of sarcasm. "Let's really get the poor girl talking and get her to tell us her life story before we shoot an ice spike through her head! Oh, and let's just not tell Song about it, because why the fuck does she ever need to know anything?!"

"You should be thanking me," Yin said, not even turning her head back to look at me.

"Oh, ho, ho, really?!" I said, more incredulous than you can imagine. "And why would I thank you for making me watch something as horrific as that?"

"Because I didn't make you do it," Yin replied. "Before the night is over, you won't have gotten off that easy four times in a row. So be thankful you still haven't had to do it yet."

That fucking bitch. Using not making me kill someone as a reason to be thankful. What the fuck kind of business was I in? I swear to you, it took everything, and I mean absolutely everything I had, not to knock her out and run away. Just get in her car and drive off into the mountains. I had no idea where the drive would take me, but I knew it wouldn't be here. It wouldn't be in this situation where I was being forced to assist someone in the murders of four innocent people.

By the time we hit the sidewalk and got back in the car, I was overwhelmed with sadness. I mean, how could I not be? The last thing that woman talked about before she died was whatever cover story she told her parents. Her parents were gonna think their child was missing for the rest of their lives. They would spend an immeasurable amount of time coming up with explanations in their heads. Whether it was her getting abducted by some lunatic or her running off and not telling them or her joining a cult or whatever. For the rest of their lives, they would be feeling inconsolable grief that their daughter was gone without a trace. That piece of shit, Lu, was getting rid of any evidence right now and it made me sick. The part that made me even sicker? We would have to do this three more times tonight. Fan-fucking-tastic.


	6. Book One - Chapter 6

Stop number two was all the way down at the docks. We had to drive all the way across town and nearly got hit by some maniac driver in order to get there, but we made it in one piece, so I guess that's what counts.

As we pulled up to the docks, I couldn't help but feel disgust at the sight of it. The salty sea air that engulfed the place combined with the unrelenting sound of the ocean water crashing against the shore made for a nauseating combination that, frankly, just didn't do it for me.

Along the dock area were huge, metal crates as far as the eye could see, as well as cranes and forklifts moving about the place.

Yin parked the car and the two of us got out and stood in front of it. I guess we were supposed to be waiting for something.

In a few seconds, I didn't have to guess anymore, because Yin told me. "Since you got so pissy about me not telling you the plan last time," she started. "I'll go ahead and tell you now."

"Okay," I said.

"The next guy is coming down here under the impression that he's our security for a drug shipment coming in tonight," Yin explained.

"What kind of drugs?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Frostbite, dragon grass, cactus juice, you name it," Yin said. "At least, that's what he thinks. The shipment's not actually coming until tomorrow."

Understanding the big picture, I simply nodded. "Gotcha."

Then, after thinking about it for a second, a question came to mind. And seeing as how not asking the right questions while there was still time was what lead to the last scenario, I wasn't gonna let this one go unanswered. "So he's one of our guys?" I asked.

"You could say that," said Yin.

Then the absolute worst thing happened. Right in front of us, not fifty yards away, a shining, black cop car came cruising directly towards us.

Obviously, I was in panic mode, and I felt like I was the only one too. Yin didn't even flinch at the sight of the thing, nor did any of the dock workers. Maybe I was just imagining the damn thing! Maybe I was the only one who saw a fucking police car that was now parked literally three feet in front of us. At first, I kept silent, assuming Yin had some kind of plan, but once the cop stepped out of the car and started walking towards us, any sense of restraint left me and I let my distress be known.

"Am I the only one who sees the fucking cop in front of us right now?!" I yelled.

The cop stopped in his tracks, then shot me a look. I was ready to flee if I needed to. If he made one move, I'd be gone in a fucking instant. I didn't care what these fuckers did to me. I wasn't about to go to jail.

Then the cop unexpectedly started to bust out laughing. He must have been seriously amused, because he was guffawing as hard as he could for about twenty seconds straight. "Hey, what is she? The new girl?" he asked Yin.

"Yeah," Yin said. "But she's good muscle, so I brought her along."

"Well, geez. What, did they recruit you this morning?" the cop asked me.

All I could do was force an uncomfortable laugh and say, "No. I'm still just a little new to this."

"Well, you better learn fast, sweetheart," he said. "For every good cop in this city, there's two crooked ones. Ever since Chief Beifong retired, you can get away with whatever you want. It's just her mess of a daughter running things now."

I don't know if you can tell from the way this guy spoke, but he seemed to be a real douchebag to me. He was pretty beefy and his hair was absolutely ravaged with hair gel, among other little minor things I picked up.

"So, I wanna ask you something," he said to Yin. "And if I'm outta line, let me know." He took off his hat and rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "Could I maybe get some of that frostbite? There's been a fucking drought in this city recently and I haven't been able to get any off the streets, so could you maybe hook me up with some?"

The disguise of the budding companion Yin had been wearing throughout this entire conversation was discarded and she shot the man an intense look of disgust.

Then she lashed out, bending the water from beneath the docks and blasting it towards the cop, completely engulfing his entire body in it, minus his head. She levitated the cop above the ground, suspending him in the air helplessly while he screamed in confusion. Then she froze the water solid and slingshot him into the sea, forcing him beneath the waves, rather than allowing him to float.

"There's your frostbite, you piece of shit," Yin said bitterly. "Come on, Song," she said, getting back inside the car.

Dumbfounded once more, I got back in the car and stared her in the face while she fastened her seatbelt. I was beyond asking how she could do something like that at this point. Even if it was to a corrupt douchebag like that. Instead, I just did what I found myself doing too frequently. I asked for context. "What was that for?" I questioned.

"He was on Qin's payroll," Yin said. "He'd been doing jobs for us for about three years. Then we found out he reneged on us. Found out he was telling the other cops what we were up to while he was still working for us. So we took care of him."

That was such a comforting sentiment. The guy got his conscience back and tried to take these bastards down and that was what he got for it. It never ceased to amaze me with these people. "How could you be so cold about it?" I asked her. "You almost seemed like you were happy about it."

"Stop, Song," Yin said, her monotonous tone never changing. "I'm only gonna tell you once. Stop. The guy you're defending was a waste of human space. He killed a lot of people. Good people. And then he lied about it being in self-defense. He abused his position of power to get whatever he wanted, whether it was from us or someone else. Now I want you to shut up and I want you to prepare for what's about to happen, because this next one is gonna be the hardest one by far and this time, I'm gonna need you to get your hands dirty. So please," she said, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Get ready and accept this."

She started the ignition and the two of us drove off to our next destination. Rather than argue with her further, I decided instead I would take her advice. I shut up and prepared myself for what was about to happen.

* * *

There was a bit of a detour on the way to stop three. According to Yin, this next target was too big of a job for the two of us to handle alone, so we had to stop for backup.

Since the job was apparently too big and too important to fuck up, this was the one time she actually told me what was going on before the hit went down. Our next target was a witness who was being held in a safe house on the other side of town. It was all the way in Kwonghai, which was this borough that was practically on the outskirts of town. It was the perfect place to hide somebody.

Of course, she didn't tell me what exactly this person had witnessed, but at least now I knew the context of the situation. That was good enough for me.

She told me there would be guards all over the place too and that it would be my job to help take them out, but after a lot of thinking, I had finally come up with a solution to that quandary. I simply wouldn't shoot to kill. Boom. Problem solved.

The two of us pulled up to the curb of a restaurant and kept the car running while we waited for our backup.

While we waited, Yin turned her head over to look at me. "Song," she said. "I need to know you're good before we do this. Now answer me honestly. Are you good?"

I didn't even really have to lie that much. It's not like I had to see it this time and I didn't actually have to kill anybody, so when I said to her, "Yes. I'm good," it sounded like I meant it.

Yin nodded and just a moment later, the sound of the door to the restaurant opening could be heard by all.

Out from the restaurant came the man who was truly the last person I wanted to see tonight. Or any night for that matter. Of all the fucking guys in this organization that could've been our backup, it was Zolt and his goons who they decided to stick us with. And he wasted no time at all getting on my nerves.

"Well, look who it is," Zolt said, climbing into the back seat along with some scruffy looking guy who had clearly never groomed his hair before in his life.

"Little Miss Loudmouth," he said to me.

"You're one to talk," I shot back.

"Ooh, hoo, hoo," he chuckled. "Careful, girly. Or you may end up getting caught in the crossfire when we get to the place."

"Both of you shut up," Yin ordered. She pulled off of the curb and the group of us were on our merry way, with a second group of people following in a car behind us.

While we were riding down there, I guess Zolt decided he was gonna try to irritate me as much as possible. "You know what they're calling me on the streets now because of you?" he asked me. "Lightning Bolt Zolt. Ever since you dropped the name to Qin, it's spread all over the city."

"Frankly, I'm amazed they never called you that before," I said. "A guy named Zolt who can bend lightning? You mobsters must not be very quick."

"Oh, it's not that at all," Zolt said. "Until now, nobody was stupid enough to give me a nickname like that. People in this city heard the name Zolt and they knew it didn't need a nickname to make it sound more terrifying. But now that a mouthy little broad like you went and gave me one, how the fuck is anyone else gonna be afraid?"

"Glad I could help damage your reputation," I remarked with a smile.

"Yeah, don't flatter yourself, bitch," he said. "Coming up with a nickname that unoriginal shouldn't give you any pride."

It didn't, but damaging his did, and that's what made me happy. Rather than tell him that and risk getting struck by a stray bolt of lightning during our little raid, I thought it would be best to keep quiet and enjoy the grief I'd apparently caused him.

* * *

An hour later and we'd made it into Kwonghai. Our surroundings were much different from the vast, unending jungle of a city we'd found ourselves in all night. This place was, if I had to describe it in one word, flat. Just average-sized, unassuming houses stretched out row after row for who knows how long.

We just kept driving down the street at a steady pace, knowing that the second we stopped our cars in front of the place, the cops guarding it would be on us like bumbleflies on shit.

As we made our way down the road, I counted the streetlights on my side of the car. Each one signified that we were getting closer to carrying out this horrible task, yet it tranquilized me. As we passed by streetlight after streetlight, I found myself more at more at peace. Just staring at them transfixed me, but I guess that was because, in the end, it was something simple to do. I didn't seek an explanation; I didn't look for an answer. I was just content with counting the streetlights.

"Get ready," Yin said, apparently determined to eviscerate any trace of inner peace within me.

Then I spotted the safe house, just past the last streetlight on our way here. We pulled up to the front of the house and stopped the car. I could already see four cops standing out front and I'm sure there were more inside. I couldn't look for too long though or they'd know why we were here.

I just looked in the mirror on my side of the car and I caught something out of the corner of my eye for a split second. There it was again. The figure I had seen back at my apartment. This time I could clearly make out that it was a woman. I only saw her for a brief moment, but this time I could see her more clearly now. She was standing in the road a good distance from the safe house, next to a parked car. The shape of her was familiar, but I knew it couldn't be who I thought it was. It was just some woman out in the neighborhood. Either that, or I was just seeing things. I had to put those thoughts out of mind once we parked the car.

From the front porch, I heard one of the cops shout, "Step out of the car with your hands on your head!"

Then there was a pause. A second of calm before the battle. I wished I could capture that moment and make it last an eternity. In that moment, I wasn't afraid. In that moment, I was peaceful. In that moment, every person there was still alive.

The moment passed away once the scruffy guy in the backseat thrust his arm forward and launched his car door at the cop standing closest to the door of the house, splitting the upper part of his body in half.

Then the shooting started, with people bending on all sides. Yin, Zolt, and the metalbender hopped out of the car, as did everyone else in the car behind us.

Before I had time to jump out myself, I saw a slab of earth about the size of a refrigerator belting down towards me. Without time to think, I shot an earth spike up from the ground and whipped my arms around madly, sending it rocketing towards the slab and breaking it in two.

I finally zipped out of the car and flung my arms forward twice, unleashing two burning blasts of fire on the closest guy I saw, but he retaliated by thrashing his arms forward with a stream of water.

Before I could counter, someone else did it for me, hurling their fists forward with two devastating fire arcs, ending the life of the firebender and sending him crashing through the nearest window.

The sound of shattered glass rung out through the neighborhood as absolute chaos had broken out in front of this house.

The remaining two cops had taken cover and were in a desperate battle just to stay alive. Our guys were bearing down on them with the force of an army and the truth was, these guys just weren't prepared.

That didn't stop them from giving it their all though. One of them ducked out from the pillar he was hiding behind and shot surge of fire down on one of our guys, faster than anything I'd ever seen. It hit him straight in the pecker, causing him to fall to the floor and howl in bloody agony as he clutched the spot where his dick used to be.

Zolt took a shot at the assailant with a lightning bolt, narrowly missing him.

Meanwhile, the other cop sent a rockslide directly into one of our waterbenders, then flipped her into the air like a pancake.

Those of us still left in action kept bending towards the cops, covering our heads as we did so as the waterbender came crashing down on the hood of our car, denting the living fuck out of it.

The wailing of the dickless man got even louder as Yin finally impaled the earthbender cop with an ice spike, causing him to practically vomit a mouthful of blood and collapse to the ground.

Then I heard the scruffy guy shouting, "Move!" and I ducked out of the way of the car just in time for the firebending cop to move out and take a shot at me.

As he exposed himself, the scruffy guy took the door of the passenger's side and whizzed it at the firebender, this time slicing him in half completely.

"Song, Zolt, with me!" Yin ordered. "Pong, Gao, Chi Fu, stay here in case they have backup!"

Me, Yin, and Zolt dashed up to the house. Zolt kicked down the door and we found ourselves face to face with two more cops, both on either side of the witness, who was seated in a chair in the center of the room.

Before the one on the right even knew what hit him, Zolt had struck a lightning bolt through his heart, immediately sending him tumbling to the floor.

Yin wrapped a tentacle of water around the other, lifting her into the air and repeatedly slamming her into the floor, denting her head in more and more with each blow until she was knocked unconscious. Then she turned the tentacle into solid ice and slit her throat with it.

All that was left was the witness, who was now in the corner, her shaking more violent than anything else during the previous attack.

Yin had the first word. "Zolt, go wait outside now," she instructed.

"You can't tell me what to do," Zolt argued.

"Outside! Now!" Yin barked.

Zolt narrowed his eyes in frustration, but left regardless.

Now it was just me, Yin, and the witness.

"Please don't kill me!" she begged. "I promise I won't talk!"

Yin walked over to her and wrapped her hand around the witness' throat, lifting her up into the air.

"I promise! I promise!" the witness shrieked. "You have my word!"

Yin prepared to end her life when I intervened. "Stop!" I called out.

Yin looked over at me and the witness attempted to dart her eyes my way as well.

"I want to know what she did," I said.

"Too bad," Yin said.

I wasn't gonna back down from this. "Yin, you owe me that much after everything that's happened tonight," I said. I was unwavering in my desire to know what this woman did and why she deserved to die for it.

"I don't owe you shit," Yin replied.

"They murdered my brother!" the witness managed to get out. "I was standing ri-"

Wham! Yin sunk an ice dagger right into the witness' chest, obliterating her life and extinguishing her soul all in one fell swoop. As I watched the life fade out of her body with every passing second, I shed a single tear and walked out of the house.

I wasn't in the mood to argue. I wasn't in the mood to ask questions. I wasn't even in the mood to think. I just had the image of that poor woman losing her life right in front of my eyes burned into my brain. It was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I was an accomplice to the most cold-blooded murder I had ever seen or heard of and that was really, truly the most awful thing I had ever felt.

Oh yeah. And there was still one more person to take care of.

* * *

Me and Yin had driven back into the city together, while everyone else went in the second car. The scruffy guy put the car doors back with metalbending and fixed the dent in the roof, and presto. We were off.

It had been some time since we left Kwonghai, and Yin and I hadn't spoken a word to each other since.

Truthfully, all I wanted at this point was to get this last one over with and go home so I could sleep this horrible night off. Or maybe I would wake up and realize this had all just been a bad dream. That I was still lying in Ito's bed and he was making an omelet for breakfast and the two of us could have a nice, pleasant conversation like we were supposed to this morning. I was starting to learn not to get my hopes up when it came to things I wanted, though. It pretty much never paid off.

We pulled up to a curb and she parked the car once again before exiting the vehicle. I wasn't even inclined to get up. I just sat in the passenger's seat with my head slumped over on the window.

As Yin moved over to my side and went inside whatever store she was going in, I turned my head over to look at the place she'd gone into. I saw it and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest and flung itself into the street.

I bolted out of the car and sprinted into the restaurant, hoping it wasn't too late. I burst through the door and ran faster than an eel hound to the back of the restaurant to see Yin kneeling Fong, the old man I talked to earlier, down on his knees.

"Yin, don't do this!" I screamed. "Don't do this!"

Fong's elderly eyes looked up and gazed at me. I could tell the second he laid them on me, his heart was shattered like a glass vase. "Song?" he said. "What are you doing here?" "Shut up, Song," Yin said.

"Yin, please!" I yelled. "I don't know what he owes you, but he can't help it! Just take all the money in the register and let him live!"

"It's not enough," Yin insisted.

"I'll pay you however much it is!" I said. I was desperate. If this man died, it would absolutely ravage me. People like Fong were the ones who were supposed to live in the end. They were the people whose kindness transcended all other feelings in this world and made everyone whole. It couldn't end like this for him. It couldn't.

"I'll pay for it out of my own pocket!" I continued. "Just please, Yin." My eyes began to sting as tears materialized in them, then soared down my face. "Please," I begged one last time. "Don't do this."

I knew she wasn't going to listen to me. I knew my pleas fell on deaf ears. But I had to beg with her. I had to try. Then, after a few more seconds went by, Fong looked up at me. The most innocent stare had taken hold of his face. "Song," he said. "Don't-"

And for the final time that night, Yin slit his throat right in front of me without even letting him finish his sentence. As the old man bled out, inking the floor with a dark, crimson red, Yin turned to me and said, "Get in the fucking car."

While she walked to the car, I knelt down and put two fingers to my lips. Then I slowly placed them on the man's forehead and whispered a single phrase. "Thank you."

I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and carried myself out the door, intent on putting Yin in the center of the argument of a lifetime.

I marched all the way through the restaurant, becoming more furious with each step, until I exploded out the door and grabbed Yin as she was moving towards the car. I spun her around and hollered into her face with all the rage from this terrible night that was built up inside me.

"Fuck you, Yin!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, in the loudest possible decibel. "Fuck you! You lousy, cold-hearted bitch! Fuck you! I fucking hate you!" I began to furiously pound on her, letting my rage out with each harmless blow. "You made me watch them die! You might have thought they were all just a job, but they were people, Yin! Every single one of them! Four hearts and souls! They weren't just a job, you cunt! They were fucking people! Don't you understand that?! Fucking people!"

Yin grabbed both of my wrists as tightly as she could, squeezing them until it almost hurt. Then she looked me dead in the eye and said, through gritted teeth - and in the only moment for that entire night that she had shown any real emotion, "I know." She let go of my wrists, walked over to her side of the car, and got in.

Amazing. With two words, she was able to completely shake my reality. Everything I had previously thought about this woman up until this point was out the window. All the moments I had either thought she was a heartless monster, or said it to her face, meant nothing. Maybe she was. Maybe she wasn't. But one thing was for sure. With those two words, she convinced me that she did know they were people. And that meant she had to have some humanity left in her.

I got in the passenger's seat of the car and the two of us drove away from the restaurant.

* * *

Finally, after the longest night of my life, I had arrived back home. I had no idea what time it was, but it couldn't have been any later than two o'candle in the morning and boy, could I feel it. Yin stopped in front of my apartment, and I proceeded to get out of the car and stare up at my building. I just couldn't believe I was finally back home.

From inside the car, I heard, "Song."

I turned around to see Yin's head looking in my direction. "Thanks for all your help tonight."

I have no idea what possessed me to say this, but I immediately replied with, "I barely did anything."

"You did enough," Yin said. She reached over and closed my door shut, then drove off for the rest of the night.

I walked over to the sidewalk and trudged my way into my apartment building. I felt drearier and drearier with each step. I honestly felt like I was about to fall asleep right there in the lobby, but I managed to carry myself all the way to the elevator. I pressed the button, then waited for a second for it to open. Thankfully for me, it only took about three seconds for the doors to open. Then I hopped inside and I was on my way up.

The whole way up, I was starting to put together the pieces of the puzzle whose name was none other than Yin.

As I replayed all the night's events in my head, it became clearer and clearer who she was.

Every time she had killed someone, it was right as they were about to reveal more about who they were. Something that would've gotten me attached to them. Of course, the pro-bender gave us her entire life story before she died, but I think Yin just genuinely wanted to know why she didn't take the money. She wasn't expecting her to say all the things that she said. Then, the instant she started to talk about her parents, Yin killed her.

And the only time she showed genuine disgust was for the cop, who was a corrupt, lowlife piece of shit.

So, what, was she protecting me? Why would she even care enough to protect me? There were so many questions I didn't have the answers to, but they would have to wait for another day.

Maybe I was right. Or maybe I had figured her all wrong. If there was anything I had learned about Yin at this point, it was that she always defied your expectations.

The elevator doors opened and I walked slowly down the hallway until I finally reached my apartment.

I swung the door open and my weary eyes snapped wide open to see someone standing in the middle of my apartment. My suspicions from earlier were correct. The person I had seen in the alleyway outside my building and standing in the street outside the safe house, was exactly who I thought she was.

This meant. Of course that she had seen everything and that this night was about to get a lot longer.

"Hi, Ishi," I said.


	7. Book One - Chapter 7

As I stared into the shining blue eyes of the woman standing in the middle of my apartment, I found them staring right back at me, their narrowed gaze staring into my soul. Their judgment hurt me more than any punch, any fireball, or any slab of earth ever could, because the evidence these eyes had witnessed was more than enough to warrant a total re-evaluation of the way they perceived me. I just hoped that she still knew the real me.

"Are you gonna start, or should I?" she asked, before I could even get a word out.

"Ishi," I started.

"Please go ahead, Song," Ishi interrupted. "Explain to me what I just spent the whole night witnessing. Please explain why you helped murder those innocent people."

I gotta say, as hard as it was to bear listening to Ishi say these words, it was nice to hear her voice again. To hear the very particular way she spoke. The way she enunciated every word that came out of her mouth. I just wished they were different words and not ones accusing me of murder.

"You don't understand," I moaned. "Just please give me a chance to explain myself and I'll tell you everything."

"I'm all ears," Ishi said.

Finally, the night had caught up with me. I tried to ward it off, but the drowsiness my night-long escapade had brought with it was creeping into my body and dominating it like a virus.

The last thing I remember was my knees giving way and me collapsing to the floor as everything went black. I don't know if Ishi came over to check on me or if she just let me lie there without even batting an eye. All I know was that that night, I didn't just sleep like a log. I slept like the whole damn tree.

* * *

There are some mornings where you wake up and you have no understanding of what's happening. Your brain can't process anything other than the fact that you're awake. And you just wake up instantly, like you don't remember what you were dreaming about at all. There are some mornings where you just wake up naturally. The world just comes slowly fading into view and by the time you're finally awake enough, you just feel rejuvenated. You can feel all the wonderful things that good night's sleep did for you. Then there are some mornings where you just wake up instantly, snapping out of whatever dream you were in, and the once vivid memories of your dream are drained out of your brain by the second. Just moments ago, you had a clear recollection of this amazing dream you were having, then it just faded away like a mirage in the desert. That was what this morning was like.

I awoke at what was apparently five o'candle in the afternoon, and I couldn't tell you what on Earth I was dreaming about, but I knew it was worth trying to jog my memory for a moment or two so I could find out.

I don't know why I'm telling you this. It's not really vital information that you need to know, but I guess I just feel like it was important enough to share with you. I just remember that dream being so incredible and I recall being so frustrated with myself for not being able to remember it.

Oh, well. I guess it's all in the past.

I sat up and took a quick look around to see I was still on my living room floor. How kind of Ishi not to at least move me to the couch.

Something I noticed instantly was the sizzling, saliva-baiting, oh so delectable scent of bacon coming from my kitchen. Cut from the finest cow pigs from the finest slaughterhouses Republic City had to offer. I know of course, because I don't settle for anything less.

Then she emerged from the kitchen, her hand holding a spatula and her eyes clouded with worry. She looked considerably less angry than she did last night, so I was gonna use that to my advantage when trying to reason with her.

Now that I wasn't on the verge of collapsing, I got the chance to actually get a good look at her, and I saw that she hadn't changed since I last saw her. She still wore her hair short, the edges coming down just below her chin. It was auburn, just like her mother's. She still wore the exact same thin, rectangular glasses as before and had managed to keep her slender figure. The only thing I recognized about her that was new was the blue fur coat she had slumped over the back of my favorite chair. It was clearly genuine fur instead of that fake crap they sell in Little Ba Sing Se, so she must have picked it up during a visit to one of the Water Tribes or something.

Now I'm sure you guys are still wondering who exactly Ishi is, so let me make it a little clearer. She was one of my closest friends. Had been since I was a kid. I wouldn't go so far as to call her my best friend, since Gan officially held that title, so I would say she was more like my second-best friend. And even though we both grew up in Republic City together, she hadn't been in the city for some years now. Of course she chose last night to pop back in.

Finally, I decided to say something to break the silence. "You couldn't have moved me over to the couch?" I quipped. I may have been more jokey than I should have been, but I refused to let Ishi see the absolute mess of a woman I was the night prior, so I had to keep up appearances.

"Shut up," she shot back at me. "Be thankful I'm even making you breakfast. At five in the afternoon, no less."

"Oh, I'm thankful alright," I said. "In fact, I'm not sure who I'm happier to see. You or the bacon."

"Ha, ha, ha," Ishi said, mockingly. "Now get up. You owe me an explanation as to what happened last night."

I did as she told me and stood up, stretching all my limbs in the process, and the two of us walked over to the kitchen to continue talking as Ishi finished preparing our meal.

"So how long have you been in bed with the triads?" Ishi asked me rather bluntly.

"Look, it's not what you think," I said.

"Then explain it to me," Ishi replied.

"I will if you'll let me!" I snapped, having been interrupted by her for the umpteenth time.

"Fine, fine," she shrugged. "Go ahead. You have the floor."

"A little over a month ago, I was abducted into the Triple Threat Triad," I explained.

Ishi turned around to face me, a tremendous look of concern taking hold of her face. "Abducted?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I pissed off one of their enforcers and they tried to kill me. The only reason they let me live is because I agreed to work for them. So I go with them on assignments and do whatever they want."

Ishi just stared at me for a moment, trying to determine how truthful I was being with her. Luckily, I didn't exactly have a reputation of being dishonest, so that helped my chances.

"Are you telling me the truth?" she asked.

"Yes, I swear," I insisted. "You know me, Ishi. I would never willingly join the triads. I hate them just as much as anybody else."

"Yeah, well, people change and it's been a while since I last saw you," Ishi responded.

"Ishi, I swear I'm telling you the truth," I said. "Ask Gan. He was there when it happened. It was in his nightclub."

Ishi remained silent for a moment. She picked up a piece of bacon from the stove and placed it on a plate that was sitting on the counter. Then she finally turned back to me. "Just tell me this, Song," she said. "Have you actually killed anyone yourself?"

"No," I answered immediately. "Thank the spirits, no, and I'm gonna try to keep it that way for as long as possible."

Ishi turned around fully to face me, paying no mind to the stove anymore. She leaned backwards on the counter and finally allowed herself to look somewhat sympathetic to my situation since the first time I had seen her. "Okay then," she said. "You need to go to the police."

"What?!" I asked, flabbergasted that she would even suggest an idea that fucking stupid.

"Just tell them everything you told me," she said. "They have to believe you."

"Yeah, that's a brilliant fucking idea, Ishi," I remarked, with so much sarcasm filling the room, you could cut it with a knife. "Go to the cops and then wait for the triad to send someone to kill me for ratting them out."

"They'll give you protection, Song," Ishi insisted. "You'll be safe from them."

"Oh, don't you talk to me about safe!" I yelled. I was actually getting really pissed off now. "You wanna know what that third stop was last night?!"

"Why don't you tell me about it at a volume where half the fucking apartment building can't hear you?" Ishi retorted.

Fuck, I'm such an idiot. I almost screamed out details of a crime I committed that could put me in jail for life for the whole damn apartment building to hear. Feeling like a complete and total dumbass, I continued speaking at half the volume, but with the exact same amount of blood-boiling anger in my voice. "That third stop was a witness who was being held in a safe house. Just like I would be if I ratted on them. We plowed through those cops like it was nothing and they murdered that girl right in front of me."

"Well, you can't keep going on like this!" Ishi said. "I don't really see what other options you have."

Listening to all of Ishi's little bright ideas caused a thought to form in my head. A question that needed to be answered more than any of the inquiries she was directing my way. So I decided to turn the tables on her and start with my own line of questioning. "Hey, here's a question," I said. "What the fuck are you even doing here?"

Ishi shot me a look of disbelief. A look that said she couldn't believe I had the nerve to ask her any questions when I was in water hotter than the Boiling Lake. And maybe she was right. Maybe I had no right to ask her anything, but I wanted to know, so I did.

"If you must know, I'm in town for my dad's retirement party," she explained. "You know, my dad the city councilman who's friends with the Chief of Police."

"Yeah, I get it, Ishi," I said.

"I don't think you do," she replied. "If you keep doing this and you eventually end up killing people, they're gonna find out you're involved and they're gonna swat you like a bumblefly."

"Well, your dad is retiring, so he won't be doing any swatting," I said.

"Yeah, well, Lin's not retiring," Ishi shot back. "Far from it. She's more dedicated than ever to cleaning up the streets, and after what happened to Su, she's not gonna tolerate any childhood friends getting involved in any criminal activities. Especially if it's with the triads."

"See, now there's a perfect example of why I'm fine," I retorted. "Su was involved with the triads and she's fine now, isn't she?"

"The only reason she's not sitting in jail right now is because her mom covered it up," Ishi said.

"Can you prove it?" I asked.

"No, but we all know what happened, Song," she replied.

"Well, that's just great," was all I could manage to say in response. "And here's another question, while we're at it. How did you manage to follow us to all those places without either getting spotted or caught in the crossfire?"

"Well, you're not gonna believe this, Song," Ishi said, the amount of frustration she felt practically jumping out of her vocal chords. "Because it's just too big of a coincidence, but believe it or not, I just happened to get out at your building right as you and that waterbender girl were leaving. I was going to come up here and surprise you. Then I saw you leave and I saw the lion turtle ornament on the hood of her car and I figured out what was going on."

Shit. Well, thank the spirits she saw that hood ornament, or she might have actually approached us. I don't even wanna think about what would've happened if that situation arose.

"Then I just got back in the cab and told the driver to follow you," she continued. "At the first stop, it was easy to hide. At the second stop, no so much, but we found a way. Then when you guys went to Kwonghai, we just stayed back once you guys got to that house. Then once the shooting started, we just got the hell out of there and he dropped me off here. Lucky for me, you left your door unlocked."

Absolutely beside myself with worry, I placed my arms on top of my head and my eyes bulged out of my skull. "The fucking cab driver saw the whole thing?!" I screamed, not giving a shit who heard me.

"It's okay," Ishi assured me. "He was cool about it."

"Oh, well, if you fucking say so!" I shouted.

"Song, I paid him a thousand yuans not to tell anybody what we saw," Ishi explained. "It'll be okay." She picked up another piece of bacon and put it on the same plate as before, then handed the plate to me. "Now go sit down and eat and let me finish with this," she said. "I'm not in the mood to argue anymore."

"I still have more questions," I persisted.

"Oh, believe me, I'm not through either," she said. "But right now, I just wanna eat. After that, we're gonna go to the park and continue talking about this."

"Why the park?" I asked.

"A little fresh air would do us both some good," said Ishi.

I still had a lot left to say. There were so many questions and statements that I wanted to make buzzing around in my head, you'd think it was filled with honey and all the questions were buzzard wasps having a go at it. And the truth was, I wasn't going to feel one hundred percent safe until I was absolutely sure she wouldn't tell anyone what I'd done. I'd get my chance though. I knew I could convince her to keep quiet. But in the meantime, all I wanted to do was eat. So I plopped down on the couch with my plate full of bacon and dug in.

* * *

One hour later, the two of us were sitting on a bench in Republic City Park. And I hate to say it, but Ishi was right about the fresh air doing me some good. Just sitting out in the middle of that crisp, autumn breeze made me feel like a million yuans, and it always did me good to take a gander at the leaves falling. I really can't explain why the sight of them just relaxes me so much.

Time had gone by and both of us had calmed down a significant amount. Before we started talking again, each of us just sat in silence for a while, just watching the leaves fall, the people wander about, and the pigeon-doves scurry across the ground.

Then, after at least ten minutes of sitting there doing nothing, Ishi took out a bag and reached inside to grab something. To my delight, it was a collection of bread crumbs that she proceeded to scatter all across the ground for the pigeon-doves to feed on. The birds flocked to the many assorted crumbs instantly, emitting coos of joy as they swallowed them up.

"Do you remember when my grandpa used to take all of us kids out here and have us feed bread crumbs to the birds?" she asked.

"Of course," I said. "How could I not? Those are honestly some of my happiest memories."

"I'm only gonna be in town a few more days and then I'm gone," Ishi said. "I'll come back to visit again of course, but I need to know that when I come back, I'll still have someone to do this kind of stuff with. I need to know that you'll still be here."

It was enough to bring a tear to your eye. Just those words alone. What killed me the most was that she was asking me to leave the triad and I had to say no. I wanted to say yes more than anything in the entire world, but I couldn't. I felt so fucking helpless and so fucking weak and it made me sick.

All I could do was look her in the eye and say the following words. "Ishi, I promise you that I will get out of this. I don't know how, I don't know when, but someday, somehow, I'm going to get out of this. And I don't care what you hear on the news. If it sounds like something bad is about to happen, don't worry, because I can take care of myself. In fact, don't even listen to the news at all, because honestly, what you don't know won't kill you. And I promise you that the next time you come to visit, I will still be here."

Ishi returned my gaze for a moment or two and then nodded. Her eyebrows curved upward and her lips formed a smile. She embraced me in a hug, which I returned and the two of us just sat there embracing for a moment. "I'm gonna hold you to that, you know," she said.

"I know," I replied. "I know."


	8. Book One - Chapter 8

It was a cold morning in Republic City. I had walked twelve blocks down from my apartment, and by the time I got to the thirteenth, I was seriously starting to regret not just taking a cab.

For the last seven blocks, I'd been fighting the urge not to take off my gloves and use my firebending to keep my hands warm. It just seemed like too much effort and I kept telling myself, 'Oh, you'll be fine. You can make it. Stop being a wimp', but by the time my hands started to go numb, I figured it was time to take 'em off.

I guess that's what I get for buying fingerless gloves in the first place.

I yanked them off as quickly as I could, stuffed them into my coat pocket, and cupped my hands together in front of my face. Then I let out a few tiny puffs of fire from my mouth, warming my hands up a significant amount. For about five seconds, that is. I had to keep constantly breathing on my hands, which really made the process more annoying and made me curse myself once more for buying fingerless gloves.

Truthfully, though, as annoying as that was, it was the least of my worries. I was on my way right now over to Ito's house in order to do what I thought needed to be done. I was gonna tell him about my involvement with the Triple Threats. I know, right? Heavy stuff. It's not exactly a benign thing to tell your boyfriend, or really anyone for that matter, that you work for professional killers.

It's not like I was gonna give him any details about my job, though. I wasn't gonna spend all morning telling him what I'd seen or really anything about the nature of the business. It wasn't for him to know. I was just gonna very plainly tell him that I was a soldier for the Triple Threats and that I thought he deserved to know.

The most important thing, though, was that I trusted Ito with this information. That's the reason I knew it was okay to tell him. We'd been together for about a month now, and I trusted him more than any other man I had ever been with. Well, actually, he was the only man I had ever been with that I trusted at all. In fact, I had never been in a relationship with someone as long as I'd been with Ito. It's not like the city was full of assholes or anything. I'd just never felt that spark with anyone else.

But I did feel that spark with Ito, and that's why I had to say something to him. Sooner or later, he'd ask me about my job and if I kept it a secret, it had the potential to drive us apart. I wasn't gonna let the first guy I actually really cared about slip away from me because of this, and that was really all there was to it.

Then, finally, after walking nineteen blocks down the sidewalk, I reached Ito's building. I took a minute to breathe and prepared myself. Then I made my way inside.

* * *

Once I'd finally made my way up to Ito's apartment, the fear of what he might say had left me. I was completely composed, confident, and ready for whatever he might say. I knocked on his door and only had to wait several moments for a reply.

His door swung open, revealing Ito on the other side wearing a white undershirt and with shaving cream covering the right side of his face. He looked at me in surprise, which made sense since I didn't tell him I was coming over, and his lips broke out into a smile. "Song!" he said. "What a nice surprise. What are you doing here?"

"I came over here to tell you something," I said. "Do you have a minute?"

"Uh, sure. Come in," he replied, before walking hastily over to his bathroom. "Just let me get this shaving cream off my face."

I made my way inside and took a seat on his cozy, leather couch, as I waited for him to finish shaving. While I was waiting, the nervousness I felt from earlier came sauntering back into my mind, like a model walking the red carpet, blowing smoke from her thin, little cigar into my mind that turned itself into fear.

As more and more of the thick, smoky fear whisked itself into my brain, I began to think of the repercussions of what I was about to do. Stuff I hadn't really thought about before. If I blabbed about all this to Ito, and someone found out about it, that would make me a liability. Ito would become the fourth person to find out about my triad-related activities, right along with Gan, Ishi, and the cab driver she was with on what I've come to call, The Night of the Four Murders. And seeing as how they all found out about it in the span of about two months since I joined the Triple Threats, my street name may as well have been 'Loose-Lipped' Song, which may as well have been synonymous with 'Dead as Fuck' Song. Trust me, there was no room for people with loose lips in this organization.

Before I had time to regain the confidence I walked in here with, Ito finally came back from the bathroom, the shaving cream having vanished from his face, and his undershirt having vanished from his body. He went into his closet and grabbed a button-up shirt to put on, then came over to me. "Make it quick, babe," he said, quickly throwing his shirt on. "I've gotta head to work in a few minutes."

"There's something I need to tell you," I said.

"What is it?" he asked, hurriedly.

Motherfucker! I wanted to tell him so badly, but now there was just too much I couldn't be sure of. This was something that was too important for me to be unsure, so this whole conversation would just have to wait. Awkward as it was, I would just have to tell him 'never mind', then probably go talk to Gan and see if I was making the right choice.

"Uh, I just came over here really quick to tell you I wanted to see you tonight," I said.

Ito shot me a quizzical look as he started putting on his tie. "You couldn't have just called and told me that?" he asked.

"Oh, well, I just thought I'd stop by and surprise you," I said, coming up with the best excuse I could. "I mean, why not, right?"

"Alright then," he said. "How 'bout we meet back at your place at seven once I get off work. That sound good?"

"Yeah, sounds great," I replied.

"Alright, now I gotta go," he said. He walked over and gave me a quick peck on the lips, then went over to his closet and speedily put on his suit jacket. "Be sure to lock the door once you leave," he said as he walked out the door.

Feeling like a complete and total coward, I picked myself up and slammed my fist against the wall, inadvertently denting it with my earthbending. Then I trotted outside Ito's apartment in anger, locking the door as I left.

* * *

About ten hours later, I was back in my apartment. My day hadn't exactly been productive, unless you consider lying around listening to the radio, taking a three-hour nap, and eating one-third of a box of Varri-cakes productive. But I did go out and buy some normal gloves instead of the fingerless ones, so that was something at least. And besides, any day off was a good enough day for me.

It was about five in the afternoon and I was getting ready to head out to Gan's nightclub. I figured that he was, as usual, the only person I could really turn to in this crisis of indecision. I mean, truthfully, it would've been better to speak to an actual triad member about this, seeing as how they would know best about how safe it was to go around distributing this kind of information, but it wasn't exactly like there was anyone like that I could talk to. And besides, Gan had always come through for me before, so there was really no reason to doubt him now.

I threw on my coat and put on my gloves, then made my way over to the door. I threw the door open and as the cold, outside air blasted inside, I saw a man standing in my doorway. A man I hadn't seen in about a month now. And as much as you'd think my spirits would sink upon seeing his grizzled mug, I gotta be honest. I was kinda happy to see Gun again. "Hi," I said simply.

"Hi, Song," he said in his usual deadpan tone. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," I replied.

He stepped inside and, I guess, decided to make himself at home. He went over to the couch and put his feet up on my coffee table, then took off his hat and put it right next to him. He'd grown a thin, white goatee in the last month since I saw him, revealing his true age to me. This whole time, I pegged him for being, like, fifty or something. Seeing him now with his white beard and his bald head, he had to be in his mid-sixties at least.

I closed the door and went over to sit in my chair. "It's good to see you again," I said.

"Really?" Gun slightly smirked. "I would've thought you'd be happy to be rid of me for a while."

"And what? Leave me with that psycho bitch, Yin?" I replied.

"Yin can be a little intimidating," Gun admitted. "But you were gonna have to get used to that sooner or later."

Typical Gun response. Whatever kind of trauma he directly or indirectly put me through was always 'necessary' in order to make me a better soldier. I guess he was right, though.

"So where have you been?" I asked him. "I was starting to think something had happened to you."

"Well, that's what I came over here to tell you," he said, leaning forward. "Now you're not gonna like this, but you have a right to know, so I'm gonna tell you."

Unsure of what I was about to find out, I sat up and braced myself for anything he might say. "Alright," I said, nervously.

"Now, first of all," Gun said. "Do you know anything about the witness that was being held in that safe house you and Yin went to?"

Great. My favorite subject.

"All I know is that someone killed her brother," I replied. "And that she was right there when it happened and she was gonna tell the police who did it."

"The person who killed her brother was me," Gun said. "That's why I've been gone for the last month. I've been laying low."

There was a silence that filled the room for a few moments after those words left his lips. The first thing I thought after he said that to me was how stupid I was for not realizing it sooner. Of course it was him. Why wouldn't it be? Is there any reason at all why I wouldn't suspect the man who shot a fireball into the head of an innocent civilian right in front of me without even blinking? Just when I was starting to warm up to the bastard too, he had to go and give me a reason to keep hating him. My eyes were burning, but I didn't let him see any tears. I felt so fucking betrayed and I didn't even know why. It's not like we were friends or anything. I just felt like someone had taken the sharpest blade ever carved and stuck it right into my back.

I leaned forward and glared at him. "Why?" I demanded through clenched teeth.

"It doesn't matter why," Gun said.

"I'm sick and tired of people saying that!" I hollered, shooting up out of my chair. "Give me a reason why!"

Gun was pissed now. Pissed that one of his subordinates was making demands of him for one thing, and pissed that I was shouting at him for another. He made eye contact with me and took a moment to calm himself before he proceeded. "You want a reason why?" he asked. "Alright. He was a deli owner. He said he was getting tired of paying us thugs any of his money and he said he was finished. So I took him out."

I started taking slow, sharp breaths that got quicker and quicker as the amount of rage I felt grew higher. "So you killed him. Then you had her killed. That's a great fucking way to take care of your problems," I snarled.

"Oh, wait, I wasn't finished," Gun said, rising up to my level. He held eye contact with me the whole time he spoke. "His name was Jong. He was also a pro-bending fan. And a car enthusiast." I backed away as he took a step closer to me every time he spoke. "In his spare time, he was a painter!" he said louder. "He had a best friend named Lee! He'd wanted to be a restaurant owner since he was fifteen!"

"Stop it!" I shouted.

"Does this make you feel better, Song?!" he yelled. "Now that you know who he is, you feel any better about me killing him?! It doesn't matter who they were or what they did! What matters is that they're both dead and that's all there is to it!"

The tears fought their way to the surface and began to pour down my face. I stormed over to my door and flung it open as fast as a bolt of lightning. "Get out!" I sobbed.

"I'm not going anywhere until you grow up and start living in the real world, Song!" Gun roared. "Until you stop breaking down in tears every time someone gets hurt!"

Finally, I had reached my breaking point. I didn't give one single fuck if he retaliated or not. I ran over and socked him in the chest, pushing him back only a little bit. "GET! OUT!" I ordered.

Without even bothering to fight back, the old bastard just stormed out of the apartment in a huff. I slammed the door behind me so hard, I thought it was gonna somehow fall off.

I went over to my kitchen, pulled out a bottle of scotch from my bottom cupboard, and immediately started pouring it into a glass. I wasn't going to Gan's anymore. I didn't give a fuck what I said to Ito at this point. If Gun or Qin or anyone else had a problem with me telling him I was working for the Triple Threats, then they could lather it up with lube and stick it up their ass.

I brought both the glass, as well as the entire bottle over to the couch and kept drowning my sorrows in the scotch.

* * *

Two hours later, and I was royally hammered. Normally I wouldn't want anyone seeing me this way, let alone someone I was seeing, but to tell you the truth, I really didn't care. Ito was a scotch drinker just like me, so I figured he'd be pretty understanding of it. He'd probably even ask for some himself. And it certainly wasn't the first time I had been drunk in front of him, let me tell you. He and I had both gotten pretty drunk some nights, but those are stories for another day.

I finally heard the knock on my door and my head perked up at the sound of it. "Come in!" I hollered across the room.

The door swung open, and Ito came in looking dashing as ever. "Hey, babe," he said. "How are you doing?"

I let out a large sigh and shook my head. "Not good, not good. Not good at all," I said. "I've got to, um... tell you something. I've gotta tell you something."

Ito chuckled as he walked over to sit next to me on the couch. "Song, are you drunk?" he asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty drunk, but I still gotta tell you something."

"Alright," Ito said.

"Now this is really important, babe, so you've gotta listen, okay?" I slurred.

"Okay, okay," he replied. "Just go ahead and tell me."

I attempted to get serious and focus, because I still understood on at least some level how important this was. But the fact remained, I was still totally hammered, so rather than give it a hundred percent, I gave it about forty-five to fifty instead. "Now you know how important you are to me," I started. "And I know I'm important to you, so you're not gonna judge me for what I'm about to say, right?"

"No, of course not, Song," Ito replied. "I mean, unless you murdered someone, I think I'll be alright with whatever you have to say."

You'd think that would've freaked me out, but seeing as how I hadn't actually murdered anyone, I actually felt like it was fine to continue. "No, no, I haven't murdered anyone," I said. "But you should know that I'm... uh..." I was having difficulty getting the words out.

Ito helped me by putting his arm around me and encouraging me to finish. "Go on, Song. It's okay," he said. "You're what?"

I took a deep breath and just decided to put it all out there. No holding back. No regrets. "I'm a member of the... the triads," I said softly.

Ito's expression shifted to one of concern. He leaned in close to me and looked me in the face. "You are?" he asked. "Which one?"

"The, um..." I started. "The Triple Threats." For the second time that night, the waterworks factory resumed production and I began to sniffle as the tears came soaring down.

"Hey, hey, hey," Ito said, trying to comfort me. "It's okay. It's okay."

I turned my head to look at him. I was obviously in distress, but I was still comforted by the fact that he was so understanding. "It is?" I asked.

"Yes," Ito said. "I just need to know one thing."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Have you killed anyone while working for them?"

"No," I said immediately, shaking my head. "I only go with them and watch. I've never actually killed anyone."

"You watch what?" Ito asked.

"It's a different assignment every time," I explained. "We collect money, we kill people. One time we kidnapped this old guy who was the head of the Pro-Bending League. But that's all, I swea-"

The next thing I felt was all of the air leave my lungs as Ito's hand wrapped itself around my throat. I began to choke and I desperately gasped for air and I kicked my legs around in an attempt to defend myself, but it was all in vain. He forced my head down onto the couch and climbed on top of me, pinning me down as he continued to strangle me.

"Now I've got you, you filthy, little bitch!" he spat.

Normally I would've tried bending, but I was too drunk to concentrate, so I just shot my arms forward, attempting to get him off of me. My vision was starting to fade and I experienced something I had truly never felt before. I could actually feel my own life slipping away, moment by moment. Ito's words were barely audible to me, but somehow I still managed to hear them.

"That old man you kidnapped? He was my father!" he snarled. "And now you're gonna pay for kidnapping him, you little cunt!"

Just when I thought my number was up, a roaring arc of fire came soaring in above me, nearly incinerating the man I previously thought was named Ito, and causing him to remove his hands from my throat.

I took in an enormous breath of air, and my eyes bulged out of my head as I released a series of rather loud, wheezing coughs from my mouth.

"Get the fuck away from her, do you hear me?!" Gun shouted, standing in my doorway.

"What's the difference?" Ito taunted. "She's gonna die soon anyway. I'll make sure our boys hit her up on the street real nice."

Gun launched another blast of fire in Ito's direction, shooting it right past him and burning the painting on the wall above my couch. "I swear to the oldest fucking spirits alive," Gun said. "If I ever so much as see you or any of your people anywhere near her ever again, I'll fucking kill you! Now get the fuck out of here and never come back!"

The ever-so-arrogant smile never leaving his face, Ito walked over to the door and past Gun, turning around to say one last thing. "Just so you know, I'll get her," he said. "Then after that, I'll get you next."

"Get out of here!" Gun barked.

He watched as Ito made his way down the hall and went down the stairs. Then Gun came inside, shut the door, and ran over to me.

I was on the floor, still just trying to breathe and make sense of all of this. I saw Gun kneel down and felt him lift up my upper body. The only word I could physically manage to get out was, "How?"

"I've had people watching your place ever since I left," Gun explained. "For your own safety. They said tonight was the first time you ever brought him over here. They recognized him as soon as they saw him and gave me a call. Thank the spirits I got over here in time."

The waterworks had an encore performance as I started to sob once more. "He was working me," I cried.

Gun pulled me in and shushed me while holding me in his arms. "It's okay," he said. "It's okay. I'm not gonna let him hurt you again. I promise."

I clung to him tightly, still bawling into his arms. It wasn't exactly hard to put together what just happened. Even if I was pretty drunk. "It was Khan," I sobbed. "It was Khan the whole time."


	9. Book One - Chapter 9

The morning after Khan tried to strangle me was as still and calming as any. That's what made it so disorienting. It was like it somehow expected me to go on like it was just any ordinary morning, but it wasn't. The fact that I was even still living in the real world at this point. A world where comforting things an ordinary morning could bring, like a pleasant sunrise or an early cup of tea. It just made my fucking head spin. Well, that and the fact that I was so hungover, I had a headache the size of a skyscraper.

But despite the fact that my reality was shaking so much, it felt like I had vertigo, I was able to process fully what had happened for the first time. Last night was my first actual dance with death. Now this wasn't a brush with death, mind you. No, no, no. A brush is just when you pass it by for an instant. Like you're both walking down a street and you bump into each other by mistake. Then you just look back at each other and keep going about your business. The Night of the Four Murders, when I was getting rained down on with blasts from those cops. That was just a brush. A dance is when you should, by all means, actually be dead, but you're saved by some freak occurrence of luck. That was what happened last night. Me and death tangoed with each other for a good thirty twenty seconds, then Gun came in and stepped on our toes before it could sweep me off my feet. And when you dance with death, you're never the same again.

Luckily, Gun was there with me, doing his best to ease me through the pain I was feeling. I suppose he knew about this stuff better than anyone. We apologized to each other for the fight we had before it all went down and ate breakfast together on my couch.

It was an important morning, because it was the morning I finally understood the indisputable truth. That Gun was on my side. All this time, I had been cautious of him. Of everyone, really. As far as I was concerned, up until that point, absolutely no one could be trusted. Gan was my only friend and all of these triad fucks could get bent. But now I had an ally. Someone within the organization that I could actually confide in, who I knew had my back. And that was a good feeling. Even if it was outweighed by my feelings of unwavering fear and anxiety.

It was currently around ten o'candle in the morning, and Gun and I had brought ourselves down to Qin's office, where we'd just told him the news about the night prior. Needless to say, he didn't take it very well, but he didn't react the way you might think he would. The whole time Gun was relaying the story, he just sat back in his chair behind his desk, the expression on his face becoming more and more concerned with each passing moment.

Then once Gun finished, Qin simply stayed in his chair, contemplating the precarious situation in which we all found ourselves. He shot me a glance, then one at Gun. Then we all just stood there in silence for a good minute or two. Qin leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, his mind still trying to process the situation.

I looked to Gun for a cue on what to do, and he just made a gesture with his hand, telling me to wait.

Then Qin finally removed his hands from his face, and looked up at both of us. "Alright," he said. "I want you to walk me through this one more time. And I want every last detail."

Gun nodded and proceeded to repeat the story in a more detailed fashion. "Alright," he replied. "None of our guys knew how to use that Lantern of Silence we purchased. We all wrongly assumed that we didn't need any special training and that we could just set it up and use it. Obviously, we were wrong. So Yang catches on to this as our guys are supposedly brainwashing him into forgetting, and he plays along. He acts like we really did brainwash him and we let him go. Then the second he gets back on the street, he finds Khan and tells him what happened. Then the two of them conspire together and come up with a plan to whack me and Song. Khan decides to work Song and become her new boyfriend until she gives him the information he needs to prove she was the one that took his father."

"Why go to all that trouble?" Qin interrupted. "Why not just put hits out on both of you?"

"Because Tang needed proof it was us before he could act," Gun answered, referring to the Agni Kai boss. "Khan probably recorded all the times he and Song talked."

Great. As if I wasn't already freaked out enough. I began replaying all of the conversations I'd had with Khan in my head, worried that he was playing them all for the Agni Kai higher ups and laughing with them about it. The night we met. The night we stayed up for hours talking about our favorite spots in the city and all the places we'd always wanted to visit. And all the various nights we got drunk off our asses, stumbling around his apartment like a couple of idiots mumbling who knows what before passing out. I tried to take some comfort in the assumption that he would only play the parts he needed. Even if it wasn't true, I had to believe it for my own sake.

"Alright, go on," Qin said.

"The night after we release Yang," Gun continued. "The Agni Kais put a couple of their guys right outside our headquarters and wait for Song to come out. They follow her to that nightclub she's always at downtown and the next night, Khan goes in there and waits for her. He starts calling himself Ito and even goes to the trouble of making a fake I. D. Then he and Song start seeing each other over the following month and finally, she reveals the information he needs."

"And how exactly did that happen?" Qin asked, his eyes shooting over towards me.

It took me a second to realize he actually wanted me to answer. This was the first time he had actually spoken to me directly since the night I got abducted. I cleared my throat and tried as hard as I could to sugarcoat my explanation. "I, uh... I got kinda drunk and told him," I said.

Qin leaned towards me and shot me a glare that sent chills raging throughout my body. Oh, fuck, was I screwed. At this point, I was pretty much directly responsible for a triad war and he knew it as well as I did. "So it's your fault," he said.

Before I could muster a response, Gun jumped to my defense. "No," he said. "This was always gonna happen. If we didn't hit Yang, we would've hit Yai, and then we would've found out the hard way that he was Khan's brother. This outcome was inevitable."

And just like that, Gun saved my life again, for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. He was really starting to prove what an invaluable ally he was to me. He had twice now saved me from situations of almost certain death, and I couldn't be more thankful.

Qin took his gaze away from me, I guess having decided that Gun's words were true and that I wasn't the reason everything had gone to shit. Then he finally stood up and began buttoning up his suit. "Alright," he said. "Both of you get out of here. I need to make some arrangements."

"What are you gonna do?" Gun asked.

"I'm going to call a meeting," Qin replied. "A peace summit between all the triads. We are going to do whatever we have to in order to keep this from escalating into an all-out war."

"You got it," Gun said, turning to leave, with me following suit.

"I want both of you to be there as well," Qin added. "You're both going to apologize to Khan for kidnapping his father and assure him that it was just a misunderstanding."

"Understood," Gun said.

"And Song," said Qin, looking at me once more. "If you ever let any information like that slip again, whether you're drunk or not, I will personally be the one to put you in the ground. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," I piped up.

And with that, Gun and I saw ourselves out of the room and made our way down the hall. The whole time we were walking to the elevator, my mind was filled to the brim with things I wanted to say to Qin, but couldn't. The motherfucking nerve of that guy. I should apologize to Khan? How about that son of a bitch apologizes to me for nearly strangling me to death?! I had the entire fucking scenario laid out in my head. At the meeting, Khan was gonna play the tapes of the two of us talking for the whole room to hear. Then, once everybody had heard the sounds of him trying to murder me in cold blood, I would be forced to flush my pride down the toilet and apologize to the bastard.

This wasn't about me, though. Once the two of us reached the elevator and started to go down, I began to think about everything from a much broader perspective. Sure, it would be humiliating to have all of our private conversations played for every high-ranking triad member in Republic City to hear. Sure it would be even more humiliating to apologize to Khan in front of all these same people. But if it helped to avoid a full-scale war, then that was what mattered. It wasn't about me. It was about the people whose lives would be taken away from them as a result of my actions.

Finally, we reached the bottom floor, and began to make our way outside. Before we reached the door, Gun grabbed me by the arm and pulled me aside, speaking in a hushed tone. "Alright, now listen to me," he said. "I want you to go home and stay there until you get a call from us saying that the meeting is on. It's too dangerous for you to be out in the open until the Agni Kais know about the meeting. I'll still have people watching your place until you get the call, but until then, I just need you to stay inside. You understand?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"Alright," Gun replied. "Now go outside. Lu is gonna take you home."

I nodded once more and started to make my way outside, but stopped as I decided that just one more burning question I had needed to be answered. "Gun," I called out. The old man turned around to face me again, waiting for me to ask my question. "Is Qin gonna give me up?" I asked. "Just please answer me honestly. Is he gonna kill me just to appease the Agni Kais?"

"Absolutely not," Gun assured me. "Killing you would make him look weak. That would send a message to everybody else in this city that you can just demand that Kingpin Qin do anything you want him to do and he'll do it."

"Promise me," I said. "Promise me that's not gonna happen."

"I promise," Gun replied. "Now go. Get some rest. I'll see you again soon."

Content with Gun's response, I nodded and finally made my way out the front door. The brightness of the sun's rays forced me to squint for a moment as my eyes adjusted to the light. Once they had, I could clearly see Lu, the stocky, elderly cleaner whom I had only briefly seen twice now, was standing in front of a moss green Satomobile.

"You Song?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I simply replied.

Without saying another word, he walked around to the driver's side, unlocked the door, and climbed inside.

I did the same as I hopped into the passenger's side and fastened my seatbelt. Then I checked the back seat as usual, to see if anyone was there, and saw no one at all. Finally, Lu pulled off of the curb and the two of us began driving down the street.

* * *

One week later, and the big meeting was upon us. It was being held uptown in some building I'd never even noticed, which was weird, because it was fairly large in size.

The week leading up to this day went by so fast. I got the call from Gun that the meeting was on about three hours after I got home, allowing me to finally relax. Then I spent the rest of the day just kinda sitting in my apartment. I didn't listen to the radio or do anything to keep me entertained. I had no real desire to do anything. I just sat there, pining in silence.

And as the hours flew by and the day turned to night, a host of terrible thoughts began creeping into my head. I began thinking about what would happen if this peace summit didn't go well. If the Agni Kais declared war on us, Gun and I would be their first targets, and I would be a lot easier to take down. I began to imagine the different ways Khan and his cronies might kill me. I won't go into detail on that, because some things are better left unsaid. Just know that whatever you can think of that they might do to me, it entered my brain at some point that night.

The next morning, I made a promise to myself that I would never ever let my mind go down that route again. The psychological damage all that worrying had done was far greater than I ever could've imagined, and far worse than any such thing my time in the triads had brought me so far.

I decided to get out of the apartment and go do something I enjoyed, in an attempt to feel happy again. I called up Gan and the two of us had lunch downtown at this place called Ho Tsung's. I never told him about my situation. I never told him that I was almost killed and that the guy I'd been seeing this whole time was actually the underboss of the Agni Kai Triad. There would be time for that later. At that moment, I just wanted to talk and laugh and have fun with my best friend. And at the end of that day, I ended up feeling a little bit better, and that counted for something.

The only notable thing that happened in the next two days after that was I called my parents and talked to them for a sizeable amount of time. I tried to make it sound like it was just a casual call, making no reference to the fact that I was involved with the triads. But in reality, this was me saying goodbye in case I was shot down in the street in the weeks after the meeting took place. I was worried that maybe one of them was on to me, as I insisted that we keep talking every time one of them tried to get off the phone. But luckily, they never suspected a thing. Trust me, I know. If they had, they would've said something.

Then I just spent the rest of the week doing whatever suited my fancy during the day and going to Gan's club at night. And I know all that may sound like a lot, but like I said, it went by so fucking fast, I really couldn't believe it.

Now we were here, in this building I'd never noticed with a bunch of people I'd never seen. Gun had given me the rundown on who was who, and there was so much to remember, it was like there was some kind of test I had to study for. The dons of all four triads were here, as well as all of their caporegimes and the various other top men and women that they saw fit to bring along.

The two of us finally made our way to the conference room where the meeting was taking place, and to say our entrance was anything less than the most awkward moment of my entire life would be an understatement. As soon as we walked in, all eyes darted in my direction like a parade of speeding arrows fired from the bows four dozen angry Yuyan Archers. How they recognized my face, I don't know. Maybe they didn't. Maybe it was Gun they were staring at. In any case, he wasn't fazed in the slightest and sit down without even addressing anybody. I followed suit and sat down right next to him.

As everyone turned their gazes away from us and continued their various conversations, I scanned the room and saw all the different souls that filled this place today. On our side of the table, there was Gun and myself, of course, and two other people Gun had told me about.

One of them was this weaselly-looking fuck with brown, slicked-back hair and a pencil mustache, who was as thin as a lamppost. His name was Motormouth Moku, and from the sound of it, he was really living up to his name. The whole time we were waited for the meeting to start, I could hear him yapping on and on and on so much I could hardly fucking think.

The other was a bulky guy who was bald on the top of his head, but had graying hair on the sides that was all unruly and fluffed up, like he never bothered to take care of it. His name was Slippery Suji, and the reason for his name was a little less apparent.

Both of them, along with Gun, were the Triple Threat Triad's caporegimes, or capos for short. If you don't know, a caporegime is basically a triad's top enforcer. Typically, when it comes to the triad hierarchy, you have the boss. Then you sometimes, but not always, have the underboss, who's basically the second-in-command. Then you have the caporegimes, who are next in the chain of command and kind of serve as an extension of the boss' will. Each capo has their own territory that they operate in and claim for their boss, and a whole crew of soldiers that they command. If the boss wants something done, he tells one of his capos, and they either get it done themselves or send their soldiers to do it. So, in my case, I was one of the soldiers under Gun's command. The same went for Yin as well.

Then I looked at the other side of the table, where the Agni Kais were sitting. The first person I spotted was Khan. He was talking to his brother, Yai, who was probably just a couple years older than me, and whose black hair was so gelled up, it probably made him five inches taller. Sitting next to them were two of their capos, Mao and Sour Saru, and none other than the Agni Kai boss himself, Big Bang Tang. I gotta admit, he looked nothing like I pictured him in my head. He was a short, stocky, old man who was pretty much completely bald, save for a very scarce amount of white hair running across the back of his head. Hopefully, in addition to all that, he was a forgiving man.

There was also one thing about him that I just had to know before this thing started, or it was really gonna bug me. So I leaned over to Gun and quietly asked him the question. "Why is the Agni Kais' boss called Big Bang Tang? How did he get that name?"

"Well," Gun replied. "The short version is, a long time ago when he was just a soldier for the Agni Kais, he and a few others had a job to torch this restaurant and burn it down for the insurance money. The explosion was supposed to destroy just the restaurant, but he ended up using way too much blasting jelly and it ended up taking out half the block. So ever since then, people have called him Big Bang Tang."

Huh. Made sense to me. Content with my answer, I took a quick look at everyone else in the room, observing the Terra Triad and everyone they'd brought with them. Their boss, Silver 'Stache Yash, his son and underboss, Goru, his advisor, Ren, and all their capos were seated to the right of us. The only ones who hadn't arrived yet were the Red Monsoons. I couldn't really fathom why.

Before I could think about it anymore, Qin strode into the conference room, causing everybody to look in his direction. He took a second to scan around the room, and observed what was obvious to everyone else. That the Red Monsoons were missing. "Where is Kodana?" he asked, referring to their boss.

As if on cue, Kodana and her pack of Red Monsoon goons burst into the room, making as grand of an entrance as they could. Already, they were visually very different from the other groups in the room. The reason being, every single one of the Red Monsoon higher ups were women. Gun had told me about Kodana and each of her capos, but I had to see it for myself to believe it. It wasn't exactly common for women to make it in this business. I mean, there were some exceptions like me and Yin, and I'm sure there were others, but to see an entire triad's collection of leaders consist of women? Fuck yeah, man. It was pretty empowering. I mean, not that I wanted to succeed in this particular business, but still.

In the few seconds of quiet that filled the room after they made their entrance, I got a pretty good look at Kodana. She looked to be in her late thirties, with long, straight, jet black hair cascading down her face, wearing a navy blue pantsuit and a fedora with a blue stripe to match, and all topped off with a stylish pair of dark sunglasses. It was also pretty noticeable that she was the youngest boss in the room by far. "You guys start without us?" she asked.

"No. You're just on time," Qin answered. "Please, have a seat."

Kodana nodded and went with her associates over to the left side of the table, each of them sitting down while Qin walked over to his seat.

Before sitting down, Qin began to address everyone in the room. "First of all, I would like to thank everybody for coming out here today," he began. "Big Bang Tang and his associates in the Agni Kai Triad. Silver 'Stache Yash and all of his associates in the Terra Triad."

"Ugh," Kodana scoffed. "You boys and your nicknames."

Qin shot Kodana an agitated glance as he continued. "As well as Kodana and all of her associates in the Red Monsoon Triad," he continued. Then the Triple Threat boss took a seat and the meeting officially began. "Now, let's cut right to the chase. You all know why we're here. We're here to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed. We're here to stop any kind of war before one starts. I already know that if the Triple Threats go to war with the Agni Kais, then the Terras will be backing them. That means three out of the four triads in this city will lose countless lives, and over what? A misunderstanding? I'll admit that what my people did was wrong. This is a harsh business. People die. That's the nature of it. I know it as well as all of you. But going after someone's father? There are some lines you just don't cross. But while wrong, what they did is, it was still just a misunderstanding."

"This is fucking ridiculous!" Khan shouted, pounding his fists into the table and catching everyone off guard. "You call kidnapping my father and holding him hostage in a-a-a warehouse a fucking misunderstanding?! No, no, no, Qin. How about this? You... fucked... up. You know you're in the wrong and now you're begging for our forgiveness, because you're afraid of what we're gonna do to you and all your other little Triple Threat grunts."

"Hey!" hollered Slippery Suji, having apparently taken offense to Khan's words. "Why don't you let your boss speak a little, you loudmouthed son of a-"

"Suji!" Qin barked, attempting to resolve the situation. "That's enough!"

"What did you just say to me, you fat piece of shit?" Khan spat at Suji, shooting up out of his chair. It looked like the two of them were about to come to blows with each other as Suji did the same.

"Hey!" yelled Tang, before it could get that far. "Enough of this shit! This is getting us nowhere! Both of you sit down and shut up!"

Staring down the living shit out of each other, the two gangsters complied and did as they were told.

"Khan's got a point, Qin," Tang continued. "What you did to his father? I just can't find any reason to excuse that."

"I've already admitted what they did was wrong," Qin replied. "But at the end of the day, it's not like they killed him. In fact, the second they found out who he was, they did everything in their power to make sure he stayed alive. They went to great lengths to avoid his death and, in the end, they were successful. But that's all in the past. I didn't come here today to recite the events that have already happened. I came here to appeal to all of you and convince you that going to war is the wrong decision. This whole incident has affected both of our organizations to an extent that some of you may consider too far. But I say that it's just far enough. I say we let it end here and go about our business like reasonable men."

"I gotta say, Tang," Silver 'Stache Yash chimed in. "That sounds like a pretty reasonable offer to me. All this fighting, I mean, we just can't afford it!"

Tang took a moment to ponder all the things that had been said, and while he did that, I studied the expressions of everybody else in the room. First, my gaze turned to Khan. It was very apparent that he wasn't going to be satisfied unless this ended with blood. My blood and Gun's, to be precise. The whole time Tang sat there thinking things over, Khan had a telling look of vexation on his face that said he couldn't believe his boss was even considering letting us off the hook. He watched him like an eagle hawk, waiting to attack the second he made a decision he didn't like.

Then I looked to Silver 'Stache Yash and saw the polar opposite expression had taken hold of his face. He had beads of sweat bolting down his face faster than an eel hound, and anybody who had actually shifted their eyes over to him could see it. It was clear he was only backing the Agni Kais out of some kind of sense of loyalty, and a war was the last thing he wanted.

Then Tang turned to face Kodana and finally spoke up again. "What do you think, Kodana?" he asked her. "You're the only one who hasn't weighed in."

The Red Monsoon boss smiled and removed the shades from her face, placing them on the table before she spoke. "Well, right now, I'm the only one who doesn't have a stake in this," she responded. "I mean, as long as this little war of yours doesn't spill over into Red Monsoon territory, then I don't give a good fuck what you do, honestly."

Tang's lips formed an insincere smile, broadcasting a feeling of annoyance throughout the whole room, as Kodana hadn't really helped with his decision at all. Then he turned to face Khan, with the Agni Kai underboss whispering something into his ear. Apparently intent on keeping all of us in the most nail-bitingly suspenseful state as humanly possible, every one of us in that room was forced to wait until Khan was finished whispering whatever it was he was saying to Tang.

Then, finally, the Agni Kai boss leaned away from his second-in-command, and turned to face Qin. "Alright," he said. "I think that as long as we get an apology from the two people involved, then this can be resolved without any bloodshed."

I guess that was our cue. Without hesitation, Gun stood up for the crowd and removed his hat from his head. Then he looked Khan in the eye and said, in his usual deadpan tone, "Khan, I'm very sorry for kidnapping your father, and I promise it'll never happen again. To him or any of your other family members."

"It better not!" said Yai, seconds after Gun took his seat.

Then it was my turn. I stood up from my chair, and all eyes in the room shifted towards me. It was so strange, because in that moment, I became so unsure of myself. The second I rose out of my chair, my feelings of impulsiveness were shouting at me like a bunch of friends daring me to do something I shouldn't. At absolutely no point did the thought of actually apologizing cross my mind. Not even for an instant. The whole time I stood there, with all those eyes staring at me, I was just trying to convince myself not to do something stupid. I cleared my throat and tried to clear my head as I prepared to give Khan his apology.

Then I remembered something Gun said earlier in the week. That no matter what I did, Qin wouldn't kill me, because he couldn't afford to look weak. Once I'd put that together, it was abundantly clear what I had to do. This was the moment I had been waiting for all along. The moment where I would take down all of the triads in one swift stroke. I was going to have to make some sacrifices. The biggest one possibly being my life, which the Agni Kais would inevitably take once the war started. But in that moment, whether it was the right decision or not, I felt in my heart that it was what needed to happen. I may lose my life, but in doing so, I would send this spirit forsaken triad and every other one in this city crumbling to the ground.

I opened my lips, looked Khan dead in the eye, and spoke the word, "No."


	10. Book One - Chapter 10

I'll never forget the way I felt when I sent the entire triad peace summit into a fiery tailspin that ended with it violently crashing into the ground. It wasn't a feeling power or control, and it damn sure wasn't fear. It was an almost overwhelming sense of righteousness. It was as if there was a whole ocean of it, plunging me into its watery depths and cleansing away all of the sins I had committed while working for the triads. But this ocean wasn't made of water. No, no, no. It was made of acid. Because diving into this vast sea of righteousness would end my life. Of that I was certain. But I managed to drown Qin, Tang, Khan, and all the other triad higher ups of this city in the process. Finally, the people who were turning this city into a spider-rat infested crime hole would pay for their crimes against Republic City and all of its inhabitants who had suffered abuse, extortion, and murder at their hands. And frankly? I couldn't have been any fucking happier that I got to be the one who delivered the blow.

There was a brief but viciously uncomfortable silence the moment after I said, 'no'. I think everyone in the room was more stunned than angered by my response. They hadn't expected this rookie who was obviously way in over her head to show this kind of moxy.

Amazingly, Kodana, of all people, was the first one to speak up. "Geez, holy mother of the moon spirit, this girl's got guts!" she said, both amused and impressed with me.

No more than a second later, Yai rocketed out of his seat and slammed his fist against the table. "Don't fucking test us, bitch!" he threatened. "You apologize for kidnapping our father right now!"

"Hey, why don't you sit the fuck down?!" bellowed Slippery Suji. "This is bullshit! I mean, are you kidding me with this apology crap?! Your dad is alive, you're alive, and we're not rolling over for you or anybody else! End of the fucking discussion!"

"That's not your call to make, Suji!" Qin roared.

"Suji, seriously," Gun added, offering his input for the first time this started. "Shut your fucking mouth."

"Fellas, fellas," Khan interjected, surprisingly calm. "While I'd hate to interrupt this beautiful exchange of words, I'm afraid I need to take a moment to make things clear. If we don't get an apology from that broad right fucking now, then we are gonna have no choice, but to go to war with you." Then, his piercing, gold eyes - the ones I'd looked into on so many nights when all I wanted was to escape the pressures of this world for a few hours - turned their line of sight directly towards me. "So, what's it gonna be, Song?"

"Geez, this is fucking unbelievable!" Motormouth Moku hollered. "I can't believe what I'm fucking lookin' at here! Are you gonna share your thoughts with us at all, Big Bang Tang?" he added, speaking in an extremely condescending way.

"You watch your fucking mouth, you piece of shit," Tang warned.

"I'm just asking!" said Moku.

"Moku, enough!" Qin ordered.

"Don't you wanna hear what Tang has to say?" Moku continued. "Because I do."

"I've already said what I had to say!" Tang fought back. "If she doesn't apologize, then that's it! This meeting is over!"

"Ho, ho, boy," Moku laughed. "Who the fuck do you think you're kidding? I think if we take anything away from this meeting, it's that now we know who really runs the Agni Kai Triad! The guy sittin' to your left!"

"Shut the fuck up, you motherless piece of shit!" Tang shouted, bursting out of his chair.

"I think you're right, Moku," said Suji. "I think the only big bang going on here is Khan's dick in your ass!"

And that's when things got a little nasty. Tang bolted over to Suji, erupting like a volcano, and began beating the living shit out of him, tackling him to the floor as he rained down blow upon blow.

This comment also managed to shatter the aura of level headedness that Khan had managed to keep around him, causing him to charge over to Moku and send a bone-rattling punch directly into his stomach.

As the Triple Threat and Agni Kai higher ups engaged in the bloody brawl of brutality that had replaced the once civilized peace summit, I and a few others sitting near me leaped out of our seats and darted over to the other side of the room, so as not to get caught in the middle of the confrontation. Meanwhile, the others in the room attempted to break up the fight.

Mao and Saru were trying their damnedest to get Khan away from Moku, but were unsuccessful in doing so, with Saru receiving an elbow to the gut from his superior and falling back to the floor.

In the meantime, Silver 'Stache Yash and his associate, Ren, ran over to Tang and attempted to pry his hands from around Suji's throat. They managed to yank at least one of his arms back, causing the Agni Kai leader to turn around and cough up a minor and non-lethal blast of fire from his mouth in defense.

I was so gripped by the intense display of violence, that I practically jumped in fear when I heard Qin's deafening bellow of anger echo throughout the place.

"HEY!" his voice boomed across the room, causing everybody to stop what they were doing. "No bending in here! This is a peace summit! Have you forgotten our honor system?!"

Tang removed himself from the floor, allowing the bloodied collection of bruises known as Suji the chance to finally breathe. He wiped a bit of blood from his bottom lip and pointed a finger at Qin. "You might wanna teach some of these motherless pieces of shit about honor yourself," he said.

"These two will be promptly dealt with. I assure you," Qin replied.

"Yeah, you got that fucking right," Tang shot back. "If these cocksuckers can even still breathe after today, they'll be dealt with very promptly. By us." He looked down at Suji, who was lying flat on his back, and looking like he had just gotten run over by a truck. Tang kicked him as hard as he could in the side, causing him to emit a wheezing groan of agony. "You hear me, you filthy fucking mutt?! I'm the motherfucker who runs the Agni Kais! I'm the guy who's gonna give the order to have all your fucking friends shot down like dogs in the street! Not Khan! You fucking hear me?!" he said with one more kick.

"Kick him again," Gun finally spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "And you and me are gonna settle this outside."

Tang turned his attention from Suji to Gun, giving my only friend in this room a look of unmistakable hatred. The two locked eyes and held each other's gaze for a moment, making me think the two of them were gonna leap over the table and come to blows right there in the room. But Tang was the one who ended up taking the high road, and looked over to Qin instead. "I hope you're happy," he said. "You wanted to avoid a war, and now you've got one. Now get the fuck out of here."

Showing no weakness whatsoever, Qin remained silent for a moment before making a statement of any kind. Despite his talks of peace, he wanted it to be known that he was in control, not anybody else. That he wasn't scared of a war between his triad and Tang's. Just as the words were about to leave his lips, he was interrupted by someone else.

"Well, it's been fun," said Kodana. "But I think I'm gonna hit the road." All of her associates got up from their seats as well, following her as she walked over to the door. "Again, just make sure none of this crap spews over into my territory. That would be great." Then, just before she made her way out the exit, she managed to get my undivided attention. "And Song, seriously, feel free to look me up if you ever wanna have lunch or something. I mean, if you don't get shot on a street corner first. You've got guts, girl. I like that about you."

Then the Red Monsoons were on their merry way, making it seem as if they had never really been there in the first place. I was seriously tempted to take her up on that offer. Again, assuming I wouldn't be dead by the end of the week, which I probably would be.

Then, finally, Qin quickly buttoned up his suit and motioned for all of us to follow him. "Let's go," he said, prompting me, Gun, and a heavily bruised Moku to follow him. "And someone get Suji off the floor."

* * *

The ensuing months since the meeting were difficult. I tell ya, I know I sound crazy saying that the universe is actually conspiring to make me unhappy, but in times like this, I don't see how you can deny it.

I stood up in that meeting and defied everyone, and I did it for the good of Republic City no less. In that moment, for the first time since the night I got abducted outside that club, I didn't feel scared. I knew that what I did would have a major impact on this city's organized crime and, yes, I knew I'd pay for it with my life, but I took solace in the fact that I'd have a quick and easy death waiting for me. But over three months later, and I was still walking down the streets, looking over my shoulder and afraid that they could come for me at any moment.

The fact that they'd waited this long to kill me meant that my death wouldn't be quick and painless. It meant that they had something special planned for me. The same must have been true of Gun, because he was still alive too.

I agonized constantly over how they were going to do it for the first month or so, which often led to fits of sobbing. I was usually able to keep my emotions in check when I was in public, mostly letting myself cry in the comfort of my own home. But there were several times when I just couldn't keep myself together and had to let it out. Mostly it happened whenever I was walking down the street.

And with the countless amount of violent bending shootouts and slayings of all kinds, each one seemingly more horrible than the last, I was able to get a better idea of what was in store for me. And I wondered if that was Khan's plan all along. To show me the many malicious ways they were capable of murdering me, and watch me worry myself into the ground and make me wish I was dead.

After two more months of endless triad warfare raging all around me, and the year 146 AG having just recently arrived, I decided to finally just give up. I knew they were gonna kill me. I knew it would be a surprise. I knew Khan wasn't gonna stop letting me squirm until his sadistic needs were satisfied. So I just accepted it and waited for it to happen. I wasn't gonna live my final days worrying about this. I was gonna live them being myself. I was gonna live them doing the things I loved. I was gonna live them like they were my last days on Earth.

It was currently around ten o'candle at night, and I was making my way down to Gan's nightclub. He and I hadn't spoken in a few weeks, as the result of an argument the two of us had. Well, it wasn't really an argument. It was more of me snapping at him after a particularly excruciating day of mental anguish, and storming out. I felt too bad about coming back, seeing as how the man had never done anything other than try to comfort me whenever I was feeling down. Tonight, though, I just had to see him again. I couldn't bear the thought of that being the last conversation we ever had. Plus, I owed him an apology above all else.

I stepped out of the cab I was riding in after paying the driver his money, and placed my feet onto the sidewalk, walking inside with my hands tucked in my coat pockets. I slowly and carefully waded my way through the crowd of people that populated the nightclub, noticing that they all looked far happier than me, and allowing me to remember what I was like before all this. Before I joined the Triple Threats, you couldn't tell me apart from any of the other people in here. I remember the night the incident happened, I was sauntering through here, bragging about whoever the fuck I'd slept with earlier that night, and boldly taking somebody on in a fight. I was as happy and carefree as these lucky bastards were now.

I put that out of mind though, seeing as how it didn't really matter at this point, and finally reached my usual spot at the bar, only to see that Gan wasn't there. I plopped myself down on the bar stool and looked around for a second or two, trying to see if I could locate him or figure out where he had possible gone.

Then I spotted Yoshi, that comedian who had performed here a couple of times, standing a few feet away from me, and I decided to ask him. I got up and quickly walked over to him, having caught his attention before I reached him.

"Hey!" he said, extending his hand to me. "Song, right?"

"Yeah," I replied, shaking his hand out of courtesy. "Do you have any idea where Gan is?"

"Oh, he called in sick," Yoshi answered. "Said he wasn't feeling well."

Great. Just my fucking luck.

"Oh," I said, trying not to sound too dejected. "Well, thanks anyway," I added.

As I turned around to leave, my heart nearly burst out of my chest as I saw Zolt standing right behind me, grinning the most malicious of smiles. "Hi," he said. "Is this a bad time?"

"What do you want?" I asked him, determined to stand my ground.

"Moku and Suji got hit today," he said quietly, making sure no one could hear him, but still managing to convey an extremely threatening tone.

I don't know why I was surprised. Frankly, I should've been surprised that they didn't get hit sooner. Tang made it extremely clear during the meeting that they were at the top of his hit list, even if Gun and I were at the top of Khan's.

"How did it happen?" I asked.

"How did it happen?" Zolt repeated. "Well, let's see, a few months ago, you decided to be a mouthy little bitch - as you're known to be - and didn't wanna apologize to Khan. Then, three months later, Moku and Suji both got shot in the head while they were eating at a restaurant."

This motherfucker was making a big mistake pushing me on a night like this. I had never been less in the mood for his crap than I was that night, and he wasn't holding back with his douche-baggery. I also didn't feel like fighting either, so I decided to keep sparring with him verbally, rather than physically. "I only said one word," I replied to him. "They said a lot more than me."

"They were my fucking friends, you little cunt!" Zolt said. "Moku was my fucking mentor! And they died because you couldn't keep your bitchy little mouth shut!"

That was it. I simply wasn't gonna take it anymore. All of my inhibitions completely disintegrated as I lunged forward at Zolt, socking him square in the face and sending him crashing to the floor. Taken completely by surprise, Zolt didn't have a chance to get back up and was completely helpless when I knelt down and began to mercilessly pummel him, my fist repeatedly popping against his face as I unleashed all of the fury that had been building up in me since the day this madness started.

"Fuck you!" I screeched, tears soaring down my face. Then I kept repeating the phrase with every blow I landed on him. "Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! FUCK YOU!"

Then I finally back got up, the helpless Zolt still curled up on the floor. "This is all your fault! You ruined my life! You ruined my fucking life! You're blaming me for this?! If you hadn't abducted me that night and just left me alone, none of this would've happened!"

Without even caring about whether he still wanted to fight me, I carried myself towards the exit, intent on going straight home and going straight to bed. Then, just because I thought to myself, 'what the fuck?', I turned around to say one final thing. "And you can stop with the derogatory comments. Calling me a bitch and a cunt. I've kicked your ass twice now without even trying." Then I just marched out the door and stood out in the freezing cold, waiting for a cab.

* * *

By the time I got home, I was feeling somewhat better. I guess taking all of my anger out on Zolt really took a load off. Still, things weren't exactly peachy. Really, all I wanted to do was go to bed in the hopes that something good would happen tomorrow.

Once I got inside, I hung up my coat and started to go towards my bedroom, while briefly being annoyed by the sound of my telephone ringing.

Tomorrow was, thankfully, my day off, so I was planning on going back down to Gan's club again and trying to hang out with him at some point during the day. That is, if he was feeling better. And even if he wasn't, I was still at least gonna go over to his house and apologize.

Then the telephone rang a second time, which is when it hit me. That was probably him trying to call me now. He must've heard from someone that I was at the club, and he wanted to talk to me.

I quickly ran out into the living room and picked up the phone to answer. "Hello?" I asked.

"North end under the Silk Road Bridge. One hour. Come alone," said the voice on the other end of the line before hanging up.

When I hung up the phone, I wasn't scared. I wasn't anxious. I wasn't anything other than prepared to walk out that door and meet my end. After three long months, Khan had finally decided to make his move.

* * *

It was a little over half past eleven by the time I got to the Silk Road Bridge. Once I got out of the cab I had taken, I began walking towards the underbelly of the great metal structure, striding down the mile to my doom as if I were a prisoner on death row. I shivered as the frosty winds hurled themselves at me, chilling me to the bone.

Damn. Why does this city have to be so cold?

Once I got near the bridge, there was only one thing I kept pondering. Why would Khan make me wait all this time, only to let me know when and where his attack was coming? He knew where I lived, he knew where I often hung out, and he knew where I worked. Heck, he could've just whacked me on the street if he wanted to! Why do it this way?

I was almost underneath the structure when I saw him finally emerge. From around the corner of the building closest to the bridge, he walked out, looking as smug as ever. "Glad you could make it, Song," he said.

"I want you to know something," I said to him, stepping closer and closer to him. "You may have hurt me. You may have caused me mental abuse on a rather large level. But you didn't break me. Even now that I'm here on my last leg awaiting death, you still haven't broken me. So just go ahead and kill me." By the time I had finished walking towards him, we were right in each other's faces. We were practically on top of each other.

Khan stared me dead in the face for a moment. His expression was as serious as I'd ever seen it. I seriously felt with every bone in my body that he was going to strangle me right there underneath the moonlight. And with every passing second, I was more ready to embrace it.

Then he let out a laugh of genuine amusement and backed away from me, having gotten a kick out of the little bit of the psychological torture he had just inflicted upon me. "I don't want to kill you!" he proclaimed. "No, no, no. Quite the opposite, honey. I want you to kill me."

This would have caught me completely off guard if I actually thought he was serious.

"What?" I asked him, not really getting what he was trying to do and annoyed that he was still trying to toy with me.

"The original plan was to just bump you on the street a week after the meeting was over," Khan explained. "But I saw something in you that day when you said no to me, Song. Something I'd never seen in you before that changed everything."

"And what was that?" I asked.

He took a pause before questioning me again. "Why did you say no to me, Song?" he inquired.

"You really wanna know why?" I asked.

"Yes," Khan replied. "I really wanna know why."

"So I could send all of the organized crime in this city crumbling to the ground," I answered. "So I could avenge every single person who's lost something because of you and everyone like you. So I could die knowing that I was the one to do it."

"Bullshit!" Khan said. "Tell me why you really did it."

Completely indignant, I spat more words back into Khan's face. "That it why I really did it!" I insisted.

"No it isn't!" Khan barked. "Why'd you really do it? Be honest with me."

It had gotten to the point where I was having shortness of breath. I was absolutely terrified to speak the words that had entered my mind. I couldn't say them. To speak these words would be the death of me. The person I had been for my entire life up until now. The most horrifying part of it was... it really was the truth.

I squinted my eyes and resigned myself to my fate, spitting out the words I was so mortified to speak. "I did it to get back at you. I did it so you would feel weak. So you would feel something close to the way you made me feel."

Khan let out another pompous chuckle, having basically made me commit character suicide in one fell swoop. It was just starting to dawn on me that he was actually very serious about this. He actually expected me to kill him. He was trying to goad me into it as much as possible. "And you knew what was at stake," he said. "You endangered all those lives. The lives of all of those people working in the triads and any potential bystanders, all so you could get back at me. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a naughty girl you are, Song."

"Shut the fuck up!" I snarled, igniting a flame in the palm of my hand and holding it above my head.

"Atta girl!" he said. "Now kill me. Show me who you really are underneath that soft, weepy skin of yours."

I wanted to kill him so badly. I truly, intensely and with every fiber of my being, hated him. More than I had ever hated another human being. But I couldn't do it. I wasn't going to let him win. If I killed him, I would go on for the rest of my life pretending like it was justified. That somehow he deserved to die and that I had no other choice. But it would all be bullshit. If I killed him, he would have the final laugh for all of time. I wasn't going to let him have it.

I extinguished the flame in my hand and took a few steps away from him in order to calm myself down. "No," I said. "I'd rather die than end up being a murderer. So just go ahead and kill me, you sack of shit. I'm tired of you wasting my time."

Khan smiled once more and, even to my surprise's surprise, the man actually walked away, going back behind the bridge.

I couldn't fucking believe it. For a good couple of seconds, I felt an immense jubilation, the likes of which I didn't think were possible to achieve at this point in time. Against all odds. Against any kind of reasonable logic. I had been given another chance.

Then Khan emerged from behind the bridge, holding Gan hostage with a gag around his mouth and flame to his throat. So that was enough to send me plummeting back down twelve feet deeper into anxiety than I already was before.

"Alright," Khan said. "I guess we're gonna have to do this the hard way."

"Let him go!" I screamed, more terrified than I ever knew I had the capacity to be.

"You're gonna have to make a choice, Song," Khan said. "You either kill me or let your friend die. So which is it gonna be?"

"Please let him go!" I begged. "I'll leave the city! I'll never bother you again! I'll do anything you want! Just please, please let him go!"

"Five seconds, Song."

"PLEASE!" I shrieked.

"Five."

"I'M SORRY!"

"Four."

"I'M FUCKING SORRY!"

"Three."

WHACK!

In the undisputed worst two seconds of my life, I watched as fire shot from my fingertips into the head of a man, taking his life away in an instant.

I couldn't feel. I couldn't breathe. Everything around me was spinning. I could do or say nothing except watch Khan's lifeless body, that was lifeless because of my direct actions, topple to the floor, then drop to my knees. Using whatever energy I had left in my body, I emitted a star-shattering howl of despair that rang across the entire city.

In my brain, there was only one constant thought. I've killed a man. I've killed a man. I've killed a man.

Then it was replaced by the overwhelming despair of the fact that, in the end, he had won. He was dead, lying on the ground with singe marks on his face, but he was the one who defeated me. Not the other way around. In his final act, the man I once cared very deeply about had managed to bring the ultimate torment upon me.

Gan managed to undo the gag in his mouth and dashed over to me, kneeling down beside me to try and bring me comfort as I began sobbing. "It's okay, child," he said to me in his smooth, soothing, voice. "I'm here for you. It's gonna be okay."

I clutched onto him, not even thinking, and continued bawling into his arms. "I killed him, Gan," I wept. "I killed him."

"Listen to me," Gan said, looking me in the eye. "You are not a bad person. That man had it coming. You did what you had to do. Don't you go thinking for one second that you're a bad person because of this. That's what he wanted you to think."

"But it's true," I said.

"No, it's not," Gan replied. "Song, the best way to get over this is to keep on living. Show him that he died for nothing. That after all this, you'll still be the same old Song."

I put my head back in his arms and continued to sniffle and weep. "Thank you, Gan," I said.

"I'll always be here for you, baby girl," Gan replied.

* * *

The next morning, I went down to Triple Threat headquarters, even though it was my day off, and personally delivered the news to Qin. The face he made when I told him was something to behold. I honestly don't think he believed me at first, but no one else was claiming responsibility, so what else was he supposed to believe? Then he made a phone call to someone whose identity he didn't disclose with me and turned his attention back to me.

"Well, I must say," he said. "This is really something. When I heard last night on the radio that someone had whacked Khan, I thought it must've been one of our enforcers. Heck, I thought maybe Gun did it. But it was you."

I wasn't too appreciative of the fact that he kept reminding me of that.

"Perhaps hiring you to work for me wasn't such a bad decision after all," he added.

Well, at least now I had something resembling his trust, which is more than I had before. And I was gonna need it in spades, because last night made something perfectly clear for me. I wasn't gonna get out of the Triple Threats. I was past that at this point. I was driving myself crazy striving towards that impossibility, so it was time to accept the fact that this was my life now and try to live with it. Try to advance as far as I could in this world while simultaneously keeping my life.

"Believe it or not, we're actually winning this war," Qin continued. "Last night, only a couple of hours before you killed Khan, Zolt took out an Agni Kai enforcer. One of their best."

"Zolt?" I asked.

"Yeah," Qin replied. "Then he went to a club and got sucker punched by some guy. Or so he says."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what happened," I muttered.

"In light of that," said Qin. "He'll be getting a promotion to capo, seeing as how we just lost two."

While it worried me that Zolt would have more power from this point on, I took solace in the fact that he wasn't my boss. Gun still held that position, and I knew I had his protection.

"Oh, and you can leave now," Qin said. "It is your day off, after all. Just make sure you show up for work first thing tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir," I said before leaving the room.

I began making my way down the hall towards the elevator, wanting to get out of here as fast as possible, when suddenly, I saw Gun, Yin, Lu, and a couple other men I'd never met step out to meet me.

Gun approached me and gently took hold of my shoulders. "Hey," he said. "Qin just called and told me what you did. I'm proud of you, Song. They're all gonna fear you because of this."

All I did was simply look up at the man and say, "Thanks." Then I made my way into the elevator and waited for the doors to close without saying another word.

While the rest of them kept walking down the hallway towards Qin's office, Yin just simply stared back at me and said nothing. Nothing at all. In the few seconds that those doors stayed open, I was trying to read her facial expression. Was she proud of me? Angry? Disappointed? It was, as usual, impossible for me to understand what she was thinking.

Then the doors closed and the elevator began going down to the ground floor.

I'd had a lot of time to process the events of the previous night. I barely slept at all, as I was tossing and turning and thinking without end. My brain had been running rampant with all kinds of thoughts, most of them unpleasant, until, finally, I fell asleep. Then I woke up this morning and thought about it some more.

And, honestly, I didn't feel as bad about it the next day.


	11. Book Two - Chapter 1

It's amazing. The unpredictability of it all. How your life can just change in an instant. How it can lead you down a road you never could've dreamed you'd be travelling down, until, one way or another, it all ends.

Now I'm not talking about all the shit that's happened to me over the last six months. How I got abducted into the triad and how I can't believe that this is what my life is like now and yada yada yada. Y'know, all that stuff I've been yacking on about nonstop.

No, no. What I can't believe is how I could ever actually end up accepting it. But, lo and behold, after half a year of this shit, it finally dawned on me that resistance was futile. That this was my life now and that I may as well stop trying to fight it.

Besides, even if I still wanted to quit, it was far too late to back out of this thing at this point. I made the choice of who I was the night I murdered Khan underneath that bridge. When the roaring, bloodthirsty orange flames shot from my fingertips and devoured his life the moment they landed on his face.

And I know I was distressed the night it happened. I know I told myself that no matter what I said or did to convince myself that his murder was justified, it wouldn't be true. But I'd thought about it a lot since then, and, frankly, I thought I overreacted a bit. That wasn't the first conclusion I came to though. It took me a good two weeks to get a handle on my emotions and convince myself that it wasn't as serious as I thought. I mean, it's not like I killed an innocent person or anything. No, no, no. This fucker deserved it. Shit, he literally asked me to do it. And by taking his life, the life of an innocent man was spared. My best friend in the whole world wouldn't be here today if I hadn't killed Khan, and I thought that was pretty fair trade.

Speaking of whom, it was good ol' Gan's nightclub that I was on my way to at the moment.

It was six o'candle in the evening, and I was sitting in the back seat of a cab eating one of the most delectable sandwiches I had ever consumed. While I was chowing down on the sandwich, I was thinking about how much I needed a night to relax at Gan's. In the month that had passed since I killed Khan, Qin had had me working a lot more than he used to. I guess because he finally saw the potential in me or something, which was kinda flattering I guess, but it left me feeling really drained a lot of nights. And this week, I had to work even more than usual, since one of our guys got locked up for some kinda drug-related charge and I had to take care of all his responsibilities. So what better way to relax than a night at my favorite place, talking with my favorite person.

I hadn't talked to Gan very much since that night. I'd been too busy to make regular appearances at his club, and when I was able to stop by, he always seemed kinda distracted. Not as upbeat as he usually was. Hopefully, though, I'd get to see him tonight, and the two of us could chat it up.

By the time I'd finished eating my sandwich, the cab came screeching up to the curb and it was time to get out. I pulled a clean stack of yuans out of my coat pocket and placed them in the driver's hand, then stepped out onto the curb. I couldn't help but shiver the instant the frosty, winter air breezed by me. Even with my overcoat on, I still felt like I was standing in the middle of an arctic wasteland without a single article of clothing.

I rushed over to the door while wrapping my own arms around me for warmth, then finally scooted on inside.

The night was young, so the place wasn't as lively as it would be in several hours, but there were still quite a few people there. I made my way through the crowd, my eagerness to see Gan growing with each step, until I noticed something was off.

The club band was playing 'The Badgermole Cries'. This really awful, sappy jazz song that Gan hates with a burning passion, and would never want playing in his club. That's when it dawned on me that he must not have been there, and my eagerness went soaring right out the door. I kicked the ground with my foot and let out a quiet, frustrated, "Fuck!"

Still, even if Gan wasn't there, I needed a drink more than anything in the world, so I kept walking towards my usual seat at the bar.

One thing was for sure though. Riko, the assistant manager who ran the club whenever Gan was away, was in for the argument of his life once Gan came back.

I had managed to weave my way through all the people that littered the club, finding out that the back was a lot more crowded than the front, and before I could plop myself down on my seat, someone approached me.

Seemingly out of nowhere, I found myself face-to-face with Yoshi, the stubby little comedian who had more or less become this club's go-to source of laughs. "Hi! Song!" he said to me, extending his hand for me to shake it. "How are ya doing tonight?"

"Well, I'm a little bummed out that Gan is here," I replied, shaking his hand. "But other than that, not too bad."

"Yeah, Riko is watching over things tonight," Yoshi replied. "He said Gan wasn't feeling too well. Called in sick."

"Aw, damn. That's too bad," I said. Of course, I knew what 'called in sick' really meant, but I obviously wasn't gonna say it. It wasn't for Yoshi to know.

"Well, I've gotta get ready for my set," he said, starting to walk away. "Tell Gan I said hi if you see him later."

"Will do," I replied. Then as he made his way in the opposite direction, I finally walked over to my seat, ordered a scotch on the rocks, and let the drinking commence.

The moment the scotch touched my throat, all the grueling work this whole week had brought with it started to evaporate from my mind. These days, all it takes is one sip of that stuff to relax me. Now that may sound to you like I'm one step away from becoming an alcoholic, but, thankfully, it's not something I depend on to feel better. Not yet anyway. It's just what happens to work best at the moment.

It wouldn't be right, however, if I was able to enjoy the feelings of relaxation that I deserved after such a long week without any sort of interruption.

Not two minutes after I sat down, I heard a voice speak from behind me. "Nice night, isn't it?" it said in the most deadpan of tones. Hearing that gravelly voice caused me to instantly groan in vexation and slam my fist into the bar, before turning around to see the man the voice belonged to.

Gun stood before me, wearing his gray trench coat and fedora, and gazing down at me with those elderly, golden eyes of his. "Nice to see you too," he said.

"What are you doing here?" I queried, making no attempt to hide my frustration.

"Come on. We're going somewhere," he responded, not really answering my question.

"I've already done everything I'm supposed to do this week," I whined. "What more do you people want from me?"

"Come with me. Now," Gun growled, clearly not in the mood for my noncompliance.

I took one more swig of the scotch, and got up from my seat as he instructed, walking with him out the door and over to his light green Satomobile he had parked on the curb.

* * *

With the passing of an hour or so, it became pretty clear to me where we were going. The first thing Gun and I did after leaving the club was go back to my apartment. Gun told me to go upstairs and pick out my nicest suit, to which I replied telling him I didn't own a suit.

So, after that, we took ourselves to the nearest department store, where I got to pick out my own suit. This really swanky, burgundy pantsuit that I thought looked really cool. It was exactly the kind of suit I'd always wanted to own, if I ever had one. The whole time we were there, Gun looked like he looked like he wanted to kill himself, he was so bored.

And every time I asked him why I needed a suit or where we were going, or anything like that, he never gave me an answer. He just kept telling me I'd see when we got there. So I thought it was pretty obvious what was going on. I was about to get made.

If you're not sure what that means, allow me to explain. A made member of an organized crime family is somebody who goes from being just an ordinary soldier, to a full-fledged member of the organization. You're given a lot more responsibilities, but a lot more trust and influence as well. In short, you go from sitting at the kids table to sitting at the big table with the grown-ups.

I just couldn't believe how quickly it was happening. I'd only been with the Triple Threats for less than a year, and they were already having me made. When I first started with these guys, I never thought I'd get this far. Not in a million years. But I guess that's life. You can never know what to expect.

After we finished buying the suit, Gun drove me down to this drab little hole-in the-wall restaurant near Central City Station and parked on the curb, leading me to believe this was our stop.

I was proven right when he got out of the car, and started walking towards the place. I followed him inside, walking behind him through the deserted restaurant, that only seemed to be occupied by the owner. As the owner went about his business sweeping up, the two of us made our way to a set of stairs in the back, leading to some sort of cellar.

We walked down into the cellar, and saw quite a few people standing around dressed in black suits. Wearing my bright-colored burgundy suit made me stick out like a sore thumb, but it was alright. I was the coolest looking one there.

Some of the people I recognized, like Qin, Yin, Zolt, Lu, and Rampaging Ryu, one of our new capos. Then there were some people I didn't, like the other three people who were standing in front of me.

Before I could catch their names or ask who they were, Qin stepped forward and addressed me. "Do you know why you're here?" he asked me.

I simply shook my head no, without saying a word.

"Speak when you're spoken to," Zolt piped up. He really just loved getting under my skin.

Rather than shoot him a glare, I held eye contact with Qin and said, "No."

"After conferring with Gun," Qin continued. "I've decided that it's time to make you an official member of this organization. Now I know that everyone here is aware that this is a highly unusual move. That it would normally take years for somebody to get made. But you've proven your worth, Song. You singlehandedly murdered one of this city's most fearsome organized crime members, and in doing so, are largely responsible for our current standing in the war against the Agni Kais. I've given you much more work than usual over the last several weeks, in order to test your resolve and to see how far you're willing to go for this organization, and you have succeeded."

Then there was a pause, as Qin briefly shifted his gaze over to Gun, then to Zolt, then to Ryu, then back over to me. He seemed to be a tad uncomfortable, and I was expecting to find out why in the next second or two.

"Now if you have any doubts about joining," he went on. "Then speak now or forever hold your peace. I am aware that you were brought into this organization against your own will, and that because of that, you may have some reservations about joining. If this is the case, don't hesitate to say so. No one will think less of you. You'll just continue on as you have for the last six months."

This was it. This was the moment that would define the rest of my life. My entire future depended on whether I said 'yes' or 'no' to this question. What did I have to lose? Any hope for a normal life. Any hope of being a decent person in the eyes of society. Possibly my entire life, if I ever got whacked or arrested. And, biggest of all, my humanity. To me, losing my humanity was worse than losing my life. I'd rather die a good person than live on as a monster.

But what did I have to gain? Trust. Financial stability. And, even though it was also something I could lose, my life. Leaving this organization was not an option. They'd have me killed if I tried. I was gonna be doing jobs for them for the rest of my life, and there was nothing I could do to change that. So when you take that into account, the choice was actually quite simple. I already took one drastic measure in an attempt to escape this, knowing fully well that it would most likely cost me my life. Who knows what other stupid thing I would try next? Instead of tiring myself out swimming against the current, it was in my own best interest to turn around and swim along with it.

After I remained silent for a moment, Qin nodded. "Alright then," he said. "Now repeat after me. As the fire I bend burns, so too will I burn if I betray my brothers and sisters."

"As the fire I bend burns," I repeated. "So too will I burn if I betray my brothers and sisters."

"As the earth that I bend shakes," said Qin. "So too will my world shake if I betray my brothers and sisters."

"As the earth that I bend shakes," I repeated. "So too will my world shake if I betray my brothers and sisters."

He didn't make me recite any kind of oath for waterbending, so I assumed it was customary to recite the oath of the element that you bend. It must have been weird for him to make me do two instead of one.

"Congratulations," Qin said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You're one of us now."

From behind me, Gun placed a hand on my shoulder as well. I looked back to see a genuine smile had taken hold of his face, which was incredibly rare for him.

I gotta say, I know he and I had had our differences in the past, but ever since the night he saved me from Khan, I'd considered him to be a great friend and mentor to me. It was so difficult for me when I started out here, but he was always there to make things better. Maybe I didn't realize that at first, but it was true. I really owed him a lot. Heck, I owed him my life. It was just really great to have a friend in this business. And now that I was made, I would make a lot more.

"Welcome to the family, Song," he said. "Now let me introduce you to the crew." He took a few steps forward and stood next to me, pointing at all of the various people across the room.

"That's Madman Mong," he said, pointing to the first guy. A portly, baldheaded guy who looked to be in his mid-to-late sixties, and had a bushy, gray mustache running across his upper lip.

"Pleasure to meet you," he said. I could tell from his expression and the way he said just those two words that he clearly didn't wanna be here.

"This here is Kyoko," Gun said, pointing to a very elderly black woman with tall, chrome hair, that was cut just below her chin. It kinda looked like she had a feather duster on her head.

"How do you do?" she asked. She, quite opposite from Mong, seemed to give off a very warm and inviting vibe. I guess it came with the old age.

"And this over here is Chilly Chi Pa," Gun continued, pointing to a tall, tan-skinned guy with combed-down dreadlocks on his head, who looked like some kind of shaman.

"Nice to meet you," he spoke in a gruff, rugged voice.

"And you already know Yin and Lu," said Gun.

Yin looked exactly the same as she always did, but I'd noticed Lu had changed a bit since I last saw him. He'd apparently grown his snowy white hair out on the sides and a little on the top, while the front of his head remained mostly bald. He'd also shaved his goatee off, which was a bit jarring to me, since I'd considered it his trademark up until that point.

"You're officially a member of my crew now, so these are the guys you're gonna be working with from now on," Gun said.

"Nice to meet all of you," I said.

"I'll let you all get acquainted," Qin said, heading towards the staircase. Zolt and Ryu followed him. I couldn't help but crack a grin when I saw the bruises Zolt still had on his face from the night I beat him up in the middle of Gan's club. I can't believe Qin let that pussy become a capo.

Thinking about Gan's club again made me realize that I still had one thing to do before I went home and hit the hay. So I shook Gun's hand, thanked him, and made my way out up the staircase.

* * *

I had to wait for nearly a minute in the freezing cold after knocking on Gan's apartment door. That would've been bad enough if I'd still had my overcoat, but with nothing but my pantsuit? I felt like a fucking ice sculpture. I tried to stay warm by breathing small puffs of fire near my hands, but it really didn't do much good.

By the time he finally swung the door open, I was getting ready to kick the fucking thing down.

His response to seeing me wasn't quite what I was used to, but it was understandable, given the circumstances. He at least pretended to act like he was glad to see me, donning a half-assed smile and attempting to sound happy. He also clearly wasn't sick, as his voice sounded completely normal and he showed no signs of illness, but I wasn't gonna be point that out. "Song!" he said. "Hey, child, what are you doing here?"

"Yoshi told me you were feeling sick," I said. "So I came by to see how you were doing."

"Oh, that's sweet of you," he replied. "Uh, come in, come in," he added, waving me inside his humble abode.

I stepped inside, very eager to escape the frigid, outside air. Gan shut the door behind him, and I walked over to his couch while he went into the kitchen.

His apartment was much nicer than mine, which I guess is one of the perks of owning your own nightclub. There were paintings and shit all over the walls of these jazz musicians; all kinds of really nice furniture everywhere, including a black, leather sectional couch in the living room, and this amazingly comfortable recliner chair that I was never allowed to sit in, seeing as how it was Gan's favorite. Still, there were a couple of times I'd sat in it when he wasn't looking, and it was the most divine feeling in the world. Okay, not really, but fuck, was it amazing. I never bought one for myself, because I was always worried I would never get up once I sat down in one.

"Can I getcha anything?" Gan asked from the kitchen. "Tea? Hot chocolate? Anything?"

"No thanks. I'm good," I replied.

With that question answered, Gan came walking into the living room and sat in the recliner chair, while I took a seat on his couch.

"So what's up?" he asked me.

"I just wanted to see you again," I answered. "I feel like we hardly ever see each other anymore. How are you feeling?"

"Ah, not too good at the moment," Gan said. "I've been coughing and sneezing and I've got a runny nose like you wouldn't believe. I've gone through, like, four boxes of tissues."

"That's not what I meant, Gan," I said, a more serious tone taking hold of my voice. "Look, I'm just gonna say it, okay. I know why you've been so distant lately. Anyone who has a near-death experience like the one you had under that bridge can't be expected to just bounce back from it right away."

Gan leaned his head downwards and his gaze shifted towards the floor as he began to feel more and more uncomfortable.

"And I know what you're going through," I continued. "I got abducted by one of them just like you did. So if you ever need to talk to me about it, just know I'm here for you. Spirits know you've been there for me whenever I needed you."

He finally looked up from the ground and directed his line of sight towards me. "Do you ever stop feeling scared to go out at night?" he asked.

"Eventually," I replied. "There's no specific amount of time that it takes. And it's inevitable that you'll worry. But it does go away. You just have to understand that it wasn't going outside that made it happen. It was chance."

Finally, Gan's lips curved upward into a real smile, and I could tell he actually was glad I stopped by. "Thanks, Song," he said. "I'll try to keep that in mind." Then his eyes moved up and down, examining me as if he'd just laid eyes on me for the first time tonight. "Why are you wearing a burgundy pantsuit?" he inquired.

"Let's not talk about that," I chuckled. "Let's just try to have a fun night. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Gan said warmly.


	12. Book Two - Chapter 2

What's something that you like to do on a Friday night? Go out, hang with some friends, get a few drinks, maybe go out to dinner? Basically, any variation of unwinding after a particularly grueling week at work. Not only was I still at work, but I was having to spend my Friday night sitting in the back room of the restaurant I'd had my initiation ceremony in, and listening to all the other dunderheads in Gun's crew go on and on with stories they felt it necessary to share with everyone. Like the one I was listening to right now.

"So, anyways," said Madman Mong, getting towards the end of an especially chauvinistic joke he'd spent the last two minutes recounting to us all. "I wake up the next morning, and the fucking broad's still there! So I wake her up, and I'm like, 'hey, why the fuck are you still here? I told you to be gone by the morning'! And she says, 'I stayed overnight, because I charge by the hour. The longer I stay, the more you pay me'. And I said, 'what are you fucking crazy? I'm s'posed to pay you for just sleepin' in my bed?'. And she goes, 'well, you have to pay me more, because if I come back with any less than what you owe me, then my pimp is gonna hurt me, and then he's gonna come after you'."

Everybody in the room let out a collective 'ooh', as Mong's joke had reached its climax. I've gotta admit. Even I was a little curious to see where it went from there.

"A threat? She's got some fucking balls," Lu chimed in, I guess without realizing his contradictory statement.

"That's what I thought," Mong continued. "So I say, 'your pimp?', and she nods without even saying anything. And I say, 'honey, if your pimp tries to come anywhere near me, I'm gonna be the pimp in that situation, and he's gonna be my bitch'!"

The whole room burst out into laughter, minus most of the women of course, while Gun only stood there chuckling.

Yep. This was my life now. Spending every day sitting in the back room of this restaurant, which was the headquarters for Gun's crew. Same dingy, leather chairs, same worn out sofa against the wall, same card table in the back, day in and day out, with the only source of entertainment being the pool table in the center. Well, that and everybody's riveting stories.

"That was nothing," said Lu. "You should hear what happened to me last week with this girl I've been seeing."

"Really?" asked Chilly Chi Pa. "You're seeing a girl, as old as you fucking are?"

"Now hold on, fellas," Kyoko interjected. "I say we let the new girl tell us a story."

In an instant, all the eyes in the room shifted their gaze towards me, as I suddenly felt the pressure of having to entertain everybody. Obviously at a loss for words, I just sat there like a cat deer in the headlights, with my mouth hanging open like an idiot. I wanted to refuse their request for a story, but I didn't wanna piss them off. It just didn't seem prudent to get off on the wrong foot with these guys, so I did the best I could, and tried to rack my brain for any tales that might possibly interest them.

Before I could open my mouth to say anything, Gun interfered on my behalf.

"Come on, Kyoko," he said. "She obviously can't think of any. Lay off her, eh?"

While at first grateful and relieved that Gun had saved me from having to come up with some kind of anecdote, I actually got kinda pissed after a second or two. I may not have been able to recall an especially outrageous story that a seasoned triad member might come up with, but I had done some out there shit in my life. "Wait a minute," I said. "What makes you think I haven't done anything crazy or interesting?"

This got some pretty hearty, amused chuckles from everyone else in the room, minus Yin of course, being the emotionless machine that she was.

"Hey, I was just trying to save you from embarrassing yourself," Gun replied, in his usual deadpan tone.

Without waiting for another round of snickers from the peanut gallery, I defensively shot back at my older mentor. "Believe it or not, Gun, I'm not as vanilla as you think I am. I've done crazy shit before."

Everybody else in the room laughed even harder this time. "Damn, Gun," said a highly amused Chi Pa. "The new girl's got some fight in her."

"Yeah, Song," Gun replied. "Your stunned silence seemed to imply that pretty heavily."

That smug son of a bitch. At this point, I considered it a personal mission to prove him wrong. I didn't care if I had to completely fabricate it; I was gonna tell him the funniest, most laugh out loud story he had ever heard in his life. "Alright," I said. "Gimme until tomorrow to think of something. I'll knock you all on your asses, you'll be laughing so hard."

"I can assure you we'll all be looking forward to that," Kyoko said.

"Alright," Gun said, clapping his hands together. "Sorry to spoil the fun, but I have a few business matters to discuss with a friend of ours over the phone, so everybody out."

And within seconds, the whole room cleared out, with myself and the others making our way out of the back room and into the main area of the restaurant.

The place was deserted, seeing as how it was after closing time, so none of us had to worry about startling any customers. During the day, though, it was a whole different story. If, for whatever reason, we had to meet in Gun's office, we had to sneak in and out through the back door, so as to avoid being seen by anybody. Needless to say, it was a real pain in the ass.

But most of the time, if we were discussing business matters, we would just sit down and order food. Qin had us sweep the place every week for wire taps, so it was perfectly safe to talk there.

As the group of us stepped outside into the freezing Republic City air, the others decided to strike up another conversation.

"Y'know, one of these days we're gonna get you to laugh, Yin," Lu said.

"Yeah, don't hold your breath," Yin replied.

"Maybe Song over here will be the one who finally gets a chuckle outta you," Lu teased further.

"How 'bout it, Song?" asked Mong. "You think you can get Yin to laugh?"

Finally, my sense of humor kicked in, and I blurted out the first response that came to mind. "I think the only way you could make Yin laugh is if you show her a picture of a dead puppy."

This got a raucous batch of laughs from everybody but Yin, who was obviously less than amused.

In typical Yin fashion, rather than show me an emotion of any kind, she simply stared at me blankly, then started walking off down the street.

"Aw, come on, Yin!" Kyoko called after her.

"Come on, we were just breaking your balls!" Lu added.

"You know she doesn't have any," Chi Pa piped up.

"You know what I mean!" Lu shot back.

I silently thanked Chi Pa for correcting him that time.

"Well," Kyoko said. "it's been a fun night. But I guess it's time to go home and hit the hay."

"I definitely second that," said Mong. "I'll see you fellas later."

While everybody else either started walking down the street or drove away in their own car, I went ahead and made my way towards the nearest tram station.

I knew it probably would've been a much better option to just hitch a ride with one of the others, but the tram station wasn't that far away, and I'd rather just ride by myself than with one of them. I guess I didn't really have anything against any of them personally, but I just couldn't connect with them, y'know? I'd been hanging around these guys for a little while now, and even though I spent practically every day with them, there was nothing I could relate to about any of them.

Except maybe Kyoko. She just had this really lively, carefree attitude that I really admired. Yet at the same time, she could also be this really awesome badass. I once saw her slam a guy's head against a table, then shoot him backwards into a wall by bending a huge rock at him. I heard it gave him a concussion. Plus, she knew what it was like to be a woman in this business, which not many people did. And unlike me and Yin, she had decades of experience. One day, I'd have to sit down and ask her to tell me some stories about the things she had seen.

Then there was Mong, who I thought was kind of an asshole. Not that he had done anything to personally offend me, although his jokes didn't really help. He was just a really big ballbreaker, who didn't realize when he had gone too far in making fun of someone. There were even a few times when he had tried to include me into a conversation, which made me feel pretty good. It made me feel like I was part of the gang. But like so many other people in this business, he had a really bad temper, which often led to vicious, verbal disputes with others, and showcased how much of an asshole he could be. Not really someone you'd go out of your way to talk to.

Chi Pa was a pretty interesting guy to me from the start. You'd think he was a shaman, if you hadn't seen firsthand what a gangster he was. He was this deeply spiritual guy, who had a strong fascination with Water Tribe culture. A fact that you'd know within ten minutes of meeting the guy, because it came up in nearly everything he talked about. One time, I pointed out to him how pretty the moon looked, and he went off on this diatribe about the moon spirit and how she and the ocean spirit were responsible for all the balance in the world and blah, blah, blah and shit like that. And while he was highly spiritual, yet at the same time a murderer, and I found that interesting, it didn't change the fact that he was also very boring.

Then there was Lu. Lu may have actually been my favorite. Lu was fucking awesome. He just said whatever came to mind, and for a guy in his late seventies, he sure had some pretty interesting things to say. He didn't really say much, but when he did, you knew it was gonna be something worth listening to.

I guess I was gonna have to learn to like them all, which I was pretty sure I could do, but still. I just wished there was somebody I could _really_ relate to. That's when it occurred to me. Kodana. If there was anyone in this business I could relate to, it was her. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I felt like me and Kodana shared a lot of the same qualities. Same personality, same profession, same sense of style. Well, for the most part. I never really thought blue was my color. The key difference between the two of us, though, was that she was a merciless, fear-inducing, cold-as-ice killer. Or at least, that was what her reputation led me to believe, and I had no reason to doubt it. You don't get to be the leader of a bending triad without possessing those qualities.

But she seemed to like me the one time we met during the peace summit a few months ago, and she even offered to take me to lunch. So I figured, why not take her up on her offer?

Ever since the Agni Kais had started causing trouble on her turf about a month ago, she and the Red Monsoons had taken our side in the war, so it wasn't like I was breaking any rules or going behind anybody's back or anything like that. Just having lunch with an ally of ours. And, of course, I would run it by Qin first anyway, just in case.

Once I reached the tram station, the thought of a delightful lunch with Kodana was all I needed to make the streetcar ride home a lot more pleasant.

* * *

As I strolled down the halls of Triple Threat Triad headquarters, a question formed in my mind that I had never really thought of before. Why was our headquarters located in a five-story building in the middle of downtown Republic City?

I mean, on the outside, it looked like the headquarters for a construction company, but I just thought it would be a better option to choose something smaller. Like the restaurant where our crew was located. It was small, inconspicuous, and it wasn't even on a main road. I don't know. It just seemed like it would draw less attention.

As I made my way towards the end of the hall, where Qin's office was, I was able to hear his voice, as well as somebody else's, discussing something important. At least, it sounded to me like it was important. If it was, though, it was stupid of them to just leave the door open so that anyone could hear.

Having made the decision to listen in, I started to take slower steps, so I could eavesdrop on their conversation longer.

"We can't just go jumping to conclusions," I heard Qin say.

"I'm telling you! It makes perfect sense!" said the other voice, who I recognized belonged to Zolt. "Look at her history. Tell me it's not something she would do!"

"As of right now, this is all just speculative," Qin replied. "We have no definitive proof yet that this problem even exists."

"Even so," said Zolt. "You've gotta admit there's something fishy goin' on here."

"I know," said Qin. "But for now, all we can do is keep our eyes peeled."

Before either of them could continue, I finally approached Qin's office and knocked on the open door.

Zolt nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing the knock, while Qin simply turned his head over to look at me. I wasn't sure if Zolt was just scared of me in general, or if he was worried I'd heard anything. Either way, seeing him so spooked for a second gave me pleasure.

"Hi," I said, still on the other side of the door. "Is this a bad time?"

"No," Qin replied. "Zolt and I were just finishing up."

The Triple Threat leader then motioned for his associate to leave, prompting Zolt to walk out of his boss' office and shoot me a glance as he walked past me. I didn't take too kindly to that narrowed gaze of his, nor was I threatened by it. I just brushed it off and stepped right into Qin's office.

"I just came by to tell you I was thinking of having lunch with Kodana," I told him.

"Lunch with Kodana?" Qin asked, raising his eyebrows upon repeating the words.

"Yes," I replied. "I just thought I'd tell you since I don't know how to get in touch with her, and... well, I thought I should ask you first anyway, so it doesn't look like I'm going behind your back."

Qin paused for a moment before speaking again, annoying me more and more by the second by making me wait for an answer longer than I needed to. I didn't even try to guess what he was thinking. I just wanted him to hurry up. "Alright," he said. "I'll give you the number."

"Thank you," I said, waiting for a moment while he scribbled the number down on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

I turned to leave the office, but before I could even take two steps, Qin called after me. "Song," he said.

I turned around to see him once more, only for him to pause again. "Be careful with Kodana," he said. "She's a slippery one."

Not really understanding why I had to be so cautious around a supposed ally of ours, I simply nodded and said, "Okay," before walking off down the hall towards the elevator.

The only thing I thought of on the way down was who Qin and Zolt could've possibly been talking about. Was it Kodana? Yin? Me? There weren't very many people to choose from, considering it was a 'her' they were talking about. Whoever it was, it was somebody they seemed very suspicious about. Maybe it was Kodana, seeing as how Qin just told me to watch out for her.

I figured it best not to worry about it for now, and put it out of mind once I reached the elevator.

* * *

Two days later, I found myself sitting opposite the boss of the Red Monsoons herself, in the outside dining area of a restaurant on what I assume was her turf. The waiters knew her by name, and she acted like this was her usual spot, so I'm guessing this was the place she usually met with people.

I had only just sat down a minute ago, and we'd spent most of that time ordering food, so the two of us hadn't really had the chance to chat very much yet.

But now that we'd gotten our orders out of the way, it was her that started up a conversation.

"I gotta say," she said. "I didn't think this lunch would ever happen."

"How come?" I asked.

"I just didn't think you'd even still be alive by now," Kodana replied. "Those guys wanted you dead so bad. I guess it's lucky for you that somebody killed Khan." I hesitated for a moment before I replied, something I knew that she noticed. "Yeah," I responded. "Lucky for me."

What was even more lucky for me was that she decided not to press me on the matter any further, and instead changed the subject.

"So, how's this life been treating you?" she asked. "I know all about your, uh, kidnapping, shall we say? And, frankly, I would've thought you'd be plotting to take Qin and his guys out, but I heard you just got made not that long ago."

"Yeah," I replied. "It's certainly been crazy so far. I started off hating this job with every fiber of my being, but now I've just kind of accepted it. And to get made this soon is really an honor."

"Yeah, I'll say," said Kodana. "It took me forever to get made. Even longer to become the boss." Then there was a pause, as Kodana leaned towards me and spoke in a much softer tone. "But would you say you're still pissed at Qin?"

Caught totally off guard, I leaned back in my seat while a quizzical expression took hold of my face. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Nothing," said Kodana. "It's just that, y'know, if you were stilled pissed at him for what he did to you... you could always come talk to me."

I wasn't completely sure of what she was implying. I mean, I had an idea of what she was implying, but I didn't dare say it unless I was absolutely sure. So I asked her again. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kodana's expression shifted to one of puzzlement. I was clearly not giving off the vibe she thought I was. "Correct me if I'm wrong," she said. "But isn't the reason you came here today to... y'know... talk to me about Qin?"

Okay. That confirmed it. She definitely thought I was here to switch allegiances. Now I knew exactly why Qin was so cautious about me meeting with her. Spirits, I can only imagine what everyone else must have thought of me for doing this. I probably looked like the biggest fucking traitor. There was still a chance to turn this around though. I could tell her the truth and completely deny it.

"No," I said. "The reason I'm here is because you offered to have lunch with me during the peace summit, so I thought I'd take you up on it. Y'know, since we're working together now." I put extra emphasis on that last part, just to remind her that we were, in fact, working together and had no reason to turn on each other. A fact that, when thought about, really made you wonder why she was even trying to get me to change teams at all.

"Well, I'm sorry," Kodana responded. "I just thought it was a little strange for you to call me up out of the blue months after that summit even happened and randomly ask to have lunch for no apparent reason."

"Look, I don't mean any disrespect," I said. "But why would you need information on the Triple Threats if we're working together at the moment?"

"Y'know, you really shouldn't ask so many questions, Song," Kodana said rather bluntly, in what was basically a threat against me. "I'm obviously not planning on moving against Qin," she added. "It's just always good to know as much as you can about the people you do business with."

And it was at that moment, when the waiter finally came back with our food at the most awkward moment possible, that I realized what a mistake this was. That not only were the two of us able to find any sort of common ground on anything, but that she more or less saw me as an enemy now. Or at least someone whom she couldn't trust.

So the two of us just sat there eating our meal and talking about whatever subject came to mind. All the while, I was thinking of who I was gonna tell about this and what I was even gonna say.

* * *

Later that night, and me and the rest of Gun's crew were huddled together back in the back room of our restaurant hideout, shooting the breeze as usual. However, unlike most nights, tonight's subject matter actually captured my interest. Everybody was talking about Zolt, and basically how much of an asshole he was.

"I heard his latest girlfriend left him not too long ago," Mong said. "On account of a few bruises she may have gotten here and there."

"He's been going around telling everybody the opposite," said Kyoko. "Saying that he dumped her."

"I'll tell you something else he's been lying about," said Chi Pa. "Those bruises he got a while back. He says it was these two huge guys who beat him up, but I heard it was a girl."

This got a couple of oohs and ahs from the majority of the people in the room.

"And why is that so implausible?" Yin asked.

"And she speaks!" said Mong. "It's a miracle!"

"I didn't say it was implausible," said Chi Pa. "I'm just saying what I heard."

"I don't believe it," said Mong.

"Well, you should," I piped up, causing all eyes to focus on me. "Because it was me who did it."

Everybody just kinda stared at me for a minute. Not really sure what to say. Not really sure if I was joking or not.

"You did it?" Kyoko asked.

"Yep," I replied. "Knocked him to the floor with a punch and beat his ass without even trying."

"Damn," Lu said. "Respect."

"Oh, by the way, that reminds me," Gun chimed in. "Weren't you supposed to tell us all a hilarious joke tonight?"

"Oh yeah!" said Mong. "I really wanna hear this. I wanna hear what you spent all day coming up with."

Fuck me. I had been so focused on my lunch with Kodana that I had completely forgotten about the story I was supposed to tell. "Uh, okay," I said, racking the deepest parts of my brain for something, anything, to tell these guys.

"We're waiting," Gun said, his passive aggressive behavior pissing me off once again.

Then, just when I thought I'd have to concede and admit that I had nothing, a story came to mind.

"Okay, I've got one," I said. "So, this one night, about a year ago, I was in my friend Gan's nightclub, just sitting there and having a few drinks as usual. Actually, it was a few more than usual, and I was feeling kinda tipsy. So I just turn over to the person sitting at the bar to the right of me, and I say, or rather, slur, without any inhibitions whatsoever, 'Why is it that there are no good guys in this city? It just seems like, no matter how hard you try, you can never really find one you just click with, y'know what I mean? Like, do you know what I mean?'. And she says, 'Yeah, I've definitely been there before'. So I go, 'How do we fix that problem? How do we find somebody we, like, y'know, actually wanna be with?'. And she goes, 'Well, I'm not looking for anybody right now, but I'll tell you what. I'll set you up with this guy I know that I think you might like'. So I say yes, and she tells me to tell him that Lee was the one that set him up. And, of course, I realize that that's a guy's name, but I'm too drunk to care or even ask any questions."

At this point, I could see that everybody in the room, even Yin, was completely riveted by this story. They were all either leaning forward, or staring at me with laser-like focus. I practically had them all eating out of the palm of my hand.

"So she gives me his number," I continued. "And I call him, and we have this great night out that ends with me going back to his apartment fucking his brains out. And after it's over, we're lying together in bed, right? And he says, 'Wow, I'm gonna have to thank Lee tomorrow for setting this up'. And I said, 'So am I. She really came through for both of us'. And he says, 'Wait a minute. She? Lee is a guy'. And I'm so confused, right? I'm just like, 'No, Lee is a she'. And he insists that Lee is most definitely not a she, and I'm like, 'Well, the person who gave me your number was a she'. Then before we can figure it out, the woman comes barging into the bedroom, scaring the crap out of both of us. It turns out he was married and his wife was the one that set us up. She'd suspected him of cheating on her with several other women, and set us up in order to see if she was right. And, well, obviously, she was. So she kicked me out and I never saw the guy again after that."

I didn't even have to wait for the thunderous laughter that followed from everyone in the room once I was finished. They all busted out laughing immediately afterwards, with Mong and Lu even laughing so hard, they were hunched over in pain.

"Oh, my gosh, that was fucking hilarious," said Mong. "Oh, that almost made me cry, I laughed so hard," said Mong.

"I think you owe her an apology, Gun," said Lu.

Gun let out a chuckle and nodded towards me. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. "I'm sorry, Song. I didn't know you had it in you."

"Well, now you do," I replied, just before letting a yawn escape from my throat. "Well, it's getting pretty late. I'm gonna go ahead and head home."

"See ya around, Song," said Mong, as I stood up and made my way towards the door.

"Take care," said Chi Pa.

"Have a nice night," said Kyoko.

"Thanks," I said.

Then it just hit me that I'd forgotten to tell him about what Kodana and I talked about during lunch. Shit. I was just forgetting everything tonight. As important as it probably was that I told him, I didn't really feel like getting into a whole conversation about it now. I was way too tired. Plus, I didn't wanna spoil everybody's night by asking them to leave. So I just decided I'd tell him the next time I saw him.

"Oh, and Gun, remind me to tell you about something tomorrow," I said. "It's pretty important."

"Okay," Gun said simply, without even looking over at me.

Then it didn't take me long to walk all the way through the sea of empty chairs and tables that made up the restaurant, and out onto the dark Republic City streets.

That night was notable for being one of the few up until that point that I left with a mile-wide smile on my face, and finally feeling like one of the gang. It would take me a while to become comfortable with them the way they were comfortable with each other, but I had to start from somewhere, and this was a good place to do it.

However, everything changed the moment I felt somebody from behind grab my arm. Without even thinking, I instinctively whipped around in a flash and ignited a flame in the palm of my hand, prepared to take down whoever my assailant may be. I was able to breathe a sigh of relief once I saw it was Yin, and lowered my defenses. I could tell from her reaction that she hadn't expected me to turn around so fast like that.

"A bit jumpy much?" she asked.

"Well, how do you expect me to react when you just grab me from behind?" I retorted. "And when you've been jumped as many times as I have-"

"I'm sorry I said anything," she interjected, cutting me off like a bitch. "I just wanted to talk to you real quick about your lunch with Kodana."

Completely flabbergasted, and a bit pissed off that she had interrupted me, I narrowed my gaze and stared at her in confusion. "How did you know about that?" I asked.

"Just keep whatever she said to yourself for now," she said. "Okay?"

Again, not really understanding how or if she knew about that at all, all I did was nod and say, "Okay."

"Promise me," Yin said, taking a step closer to me.

"I promise," I said.

Then Yin just simply nodded and was off on her merry way back to the restaurant, leaving me alone and confused on a dark Republic City street.

Once I started walking again, I began thinking about the conversation between Qin and Zolt I heard earlier. Maybe it wasn't Kodana they were talking about. I mean, it seemed likely, considering how suspicious she was acting at lunch, but that didn't mean it was definitely her. It seemed more to me like it was Yin they were talking about. Why wouldn't she want me telling anyone what happened? How did she even know about the lunch, let alone what was said during it? Or maybe it really was me. I don't know. Come to think of it, I didn't even know what they were talking about. It only sounded like they were suspicious of somebody they knew.

I let those thoughts occupy my mind as I boarded the streetcar and began my ride home.


	13. Book Two - Chapter 3

"You're out of your mind!" I yelled to Gan, who was standing on the other side of the bar I was sitting at. "If both teams were still in the game today, the 129 Elephant Koi would fucking obliterate the 132 Komodo Rhinos!"

"Oh, my goodness," Gan replied with a head shake. "And you call yourself a pro-bending fan."

It was so nice that the two of us were seeing each other so often again. Even if he had no idea what the fuck he was talking about.

It was one o'candle in the morning, and the two of us were debating about which retired pro-bending team would've won in their prime. I'd also managed not to drink as much as I usually would have on my night off, which I considered to be some form of personal growth.

"I'm telling you," I started back with Gan. "The Elephant Kois' captain was one of _the_ greatest players in the game. No one on the Rhinos' 132 team, or any team for that matter, could move the way he could."

"Okay," Gan replied. "Even though the 129 Elephant Kois couldn't stay in the game for more than four years, let's just agree to disagree."

"You act like that was because they got bad or something," I said, completely ignoring his attempt to end the argument. "They all just moved on to bigger and better things."

"That's what every Elephant Koi fan has been saying for the past sixteen years," Gan shot back. "It's so obvious they just couldn't play anymore. People always act like there isn't an explanation as to why, but the truth is, they just got way too complacent. If they were really the better team, then they would've kept training instead of just thinking they were the best all the time."

"Or, or, or," I stuttered. "Maybe they really did just move on. You don't know! I mean, is it really so hard to believe they all just wanted to use their talents elsewhere?"

Gan stopped to laugh for a moment before speaking again. "Damn, child," he said. "You really get worked up when it comes to pro-bending. I swear, you're exactly the same as you were when you were little."

"Well, I take this shit seriously," I chuckled. "Especially when somebody comes after my Elephant Koi. I don't fuck around when it comes to my Elephant Koi."

"Yes, I know," said Gan.

I threw my hands up above my head and allowed a yawn to escape from my mouth as the lateness of the hour made me sleepier by the minute.

"Well, I guess I should probably go," I said, hopping off my seat at the bar. "It was really good seeing you again, Gan."

"You too," he replied. "Try and stop by again soon."

"Oh, don't worry," I said. "I definitely will." And that was the truth. Mainly because I wanted to start seeing him on a regular basis again, but also because I was too used to the booze he sold to buy it from someplace else.

Once I waded my way through the crowd of people swimming in the narrow sea that was this club, I pushed the front door open and walked outside into the desolate, dimly-lit neighborhood that surrounded it and started walking down the street.

I grew increasingly anxious with each step I took down the sidewalk, hoping more and more every second that a cab would eventually pass me by. My plan was to take the el-train home, but having lived in this part of town for the majority of my youth, I knew the reputation it had better than most. Let's just say triad members weren't the only kind of people you had to watch out for.

And feeling that way made me think about the way I was when all of this first started.

Now I know I'm not supposed to think about anything like that. I learned after killing Khan that thinking about the past and what I could've done to prevent all this from happening would keep me from moving forward. I knew that and had no problem with it. But I couldn't help but think of the way I behaved before and how stupid it was for me to act that way.

I always felt like I was so tough and that nothing could scare me, and, in some ways, I was right. I'd always known how to fight, and I was always really good at it. For most of my life, I'd never backed down from a challenge and I was never scared to face anybody, no matter who they were.

But what I didn't realize until I sat in front of the most feared crime boss in the United Republic and he spoke my name while threatening to end my life, was that I knew _nothing_ about what real fear was. I was so arrogant to assume I was this untouchable badass who couldn't be harmed. Who would find a way to escape from the bad guys' captivity and teach them all a lesson while making a snarky remark about how I'd just beaten them.

For the first time in my life, I was put in a situation I couldn't fight my way out of, and it terrified me.

It was okay though. I'd learned my lesson. I knew now what real fear was. Real fear was watching four innocent people die before your eyes. Real fear was being pinned to your couch, feeling the air leaving your lungs as you looked up into the eyes of your boyfriend as he tried to strangle you to death. Real fear was having to kill a man with your own two hands in order to save your best friend's life.

The world I lived in now was filled to the brim with real fear just like that, and now that I'd experienced it for myself, I was beginning to learn how to live in this world. And I would only keep learning.

I was halfway to the el-train station when it happened.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two huge guys tailing a smaller guy on the other side of the street. Both of the big guys were jacked. One of them was pale and white, while the other one was tan, which led me to believe one of them was a firebender, and the other was a waterbender. I couldn't get a good enough look at the smaller guy to make out any of his features. All I could see was that he was wearing a standard, blue Water Tribe parka, with the hood over his head in order to keep his ears warm.

I had been followed exactly like that before on nights just like this one, and I knew what was about to happen.

It didn't take me long to decide what I needed to do. Before I even crossed the street, the tan guy had shoved the smaller guy into a trash can, knocking him off his feet.

"Where you goin' tonight, huh? You little shit," one of them goaded. "You on your way down to the homeless shelter?"

"Fuck you," I heard the little guy snarl.

"What the fuck did you say?" asked the pale guy, grabbing the little guy by his shirt and igniting a flame in the palm of his hand.

"You heard me," the little guy said.

I started speed walking across the street as fast as I could, knowing that if I ran, I would attract their attention. I had to get to this guy before they knocked his fucking lights out.

"You wanna take that back, you little shit?" asked the pale guy, moving the flame in his hand closer and closer to the little guy's face. The closer the flame got, the more the little guy moved his head away in fear. "Oh, what's the matter?" the pale guy asked. "You scared of a little fire? I bet you wish you were a bender, huh?"

"I'm not scared of you," the little guy spat.

The two benders shot each other a highly amused glance, before turning their gaze back to the little guy. Then the tan guy dealt him a crippling blow, socking him right in the gut. "Well," he said. "I guess we're gonna have to fix that right-"

Those were the only words he was able to get out before I stomped my foot into the ground, causing it to tremble for a moment as if there was a quake going on. The pale guy lost his grip on the little guy, accidentally dropping him to the ground, and then the two chucklefucks whipped their heads over to look at me.

"I'm only gonna ask you once," I loudly announced to them. "Leave him alone."

Then the two assholes gave me their full and undivided attention, each of them cracking a smile.

"Sure, baby," said the tan one. "We'll do whatever you say."

For a second or two, I stood there and hoped really hard that they wouldn't take any steps towards me, but, of course, that's exactly what they did.

As soon as they took their first step, I popped a boulder out of the ground and kicked it right past the pale guy's fat head. "One more step, asshole. I dare you," I warned.

Deaf to my warnings, the two assholes started lobbing their respective elements at me, with the tan guy unleashing a stream of water at me, and the pale guy expelling a fireball from his fist.

I ducked to avoid the blasts and hammered both my fists into the ground, creating a rock column beneath each of the two assholes that sent them skyrocketing dozens of feet into the air. Then, just because I didn't particularly want to kill anybody else who wasn't a mobster again for the rest of my life, I threw my fists sideways and bent the earth on the nearest building outwards into a platform in order to catch them as they fell back down.

Paying no more mind to the two assholes, I ran over to the little guy and knelt down next to him in order to see if he was alright.

Once I finally got a good look at him, I could see he was just a kid. He couldn't have been any older than sixteen. He had ruffled, jet black hair and tan skin, which led me to assume he was of Water Tribe descent, and was a little on the scrawny side. I was guessing he didn't eat very much, which was to be expected if the poor kid really was homeless.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

The kid looked up at me first before he said anything, first studying my face, then thinking deeply about something unknown to me. "You saved me," he wheezed, still reeling from the punch he took earlier. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," I replied, before helping him back onto his feet. "So, you got a place to stay? Maybe some parents you can call?"

"No," the kid replied. "I don't have a home. I was on my way down to the shelter."

I don't know why, but I took such great pity on this kid. I felt like I knew him. Like I knew him really well, in fact. Maybe it was because I knew so many kids like him when I was growing up. Who were dirt poor and got harassed by guys like the ones I just beat up. Whatever the reason was, it made me feel like from that moment on, I was responsible for that kid. That it was my duty to make sure the streets didn't eat him up alive. And you never know. If worst came to worst, he could end up working for the triads just like me. And if I could stop that from happening to just one kid, then I felt like I'd done my duty.

"Well, I'll tell you what," I said. "You can come back to my place for now and get something warm to eat. Does that sound good?"

The kid shot me a quizzical look, clearly and understandably unsure of my intentions. "You're just gonna take me into your home just like that?" he asked. "For all you know, I could be some nutjob."

"You don't seem like a nutjob to me," I replied with a chuckle. "The name's Song, by the way. What's yours?"

"Hideki," the kid replied.

"Hideki?" I repeated. "Huh."

"Why?" he asked. "You don't like it?" He seemed genuinely upset by my reaction.

"No, it's fine," I replied. "You just don't look like a Hideki to me."

Now he looked even more hurt by what I said. Like I'd just killed his pet fire ferret or something. So I tried as best I could to turn it around and brighten his spirits.

"But hey," I said. "If that's your name, and you're proud of it, then by the spirits, you stick with it. And don't let anyone tell you it's a bad one."

That seemed to make him feel at least a little bit better, since I finally saw a smile take shape on that face of his for the first time since I'd met him.

"Now come on," I said. "I'm getting cold."

"Yeah, me too," Hideki replied. "This city is always so damn cold."

"Yeah," I said. "Tell me about it."

* * *

One ride on the el-train later, and there I was, sitting in my living room around two o'candle in the morning with a kid off the street that I'd never met before tonight. The universe just loved to keep throwing all sorts of weird surprises my way.

While I sat in my chair chowing down on a bowl of cereal, Hideki was over on the couch ravaging a plate of dumplings I'd given him. It seemed my theory of him not having eaten in a while was proven correct. He didn't even say a word the whole time he was eating. He was like a wolf devouring a slab of raw meat. Maybe it had something to do with the Water Tribe blood he had in him. Or maybe I was just stereotyping. I don't know.

Once he'd finished, he just looked over at me and immediately asked me, "Do you have anything else I can eat?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," I said, getting up from my chair and going over to the kitchen. "I have some Flamey-O noodles if you want some of those."

"Yeah, please, just anything," Hideki said.

Damn. The kid must've been really hungry. Again, can't say that I blamed him.

I took out the package of Flamey-O noodles and started to heat it up, all the while Hideki and I conversed.

"I'm sorry if I'm being demanding," he said from the living room. "It's just that I barely eat, and I haven't had access to this much food in a long time."

"Yeah, no, it's all good, dude," I said from the kitchen. "If I were homeless, I'd probably act the same way around this much food." Then, once the noodles were heated up and ready to go, I walked back into the living room and handed them to Hideki, before sitting back down in my chair. "By the way," I asked. "How exactly did you end up being homeless?"

"I ran away from home," Hideki replied. "And now there's no way I can go back. Even if I wanted to."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Did your parents move somewhere you can't find them or do they still live in the city?"

"I'm not from Republic City originally," he said. "I'm from a place far away from here. A place I never hope to see again."

"And where might that place be?" I pressed further.

Hideki hesitated for a moment before answering. He even stopped eating the noodles. Whatever the answer to this question was, it was obviously very difficult for him to discuss. I probably would've told him he didn't have to answer the question in a second or two if he didn't go ahead and answer it anyway.

"Just some faraway place you've probably never heard of," he said. "It's not important, is it?"

"No, no," I answered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. I'm just trying to find out more about you."

"It's okay," he said. "You have a right to know who's sitting in your home and eating your food."

That, to me, felt like the perfect moment to make the proposition I had been wanting to make all night. So I just went for it. "Actually, you can do more than just sit here and eat," I said. "You can sleep here, and bathe here, and listen to the radio here, and, well, basically live here."

Needless to say, this idea seemed to take Hideki by surprise. Then, after the initial shock of the idea, a grin took shape on his face that broadcast a sense of comfort. "You're not some crazy organ harvester, are you?" he joked with a chuckle.

That got an instant laugh out of me before I responded. "No, I promise I'm not."

"Well, that's good," said Hideki. "And I'd love to stay in your home. As long as you answer one question."

"Okay," I said, not really caring at the moment what question he might ask me.

"Why do you want me to live here?" he asked me.

I gotta say, I found it a little strange how he was so curious as to the reason why I wanted him here, instead of just being thankful that he had a place to stay. But nevertheless, I thought I should answer the question. "Because I wanna help you," I said. "I want to give you the life you deserve, instead of leaving you out on the street to rot. I know we just met and I barely know you, but you really seem like a good kid, and I don't wanna see the streets get the better of you."

Then Hideki's grin morphed into a smile and his eyebrows curved upward, and I just knew he was happier than he had been in a long time. "Thank you, Song," he said.

"Don't mention it," I replied, shooting him a smile back. "And one of these days," I added. "I'm gonna have to teach you how to fight back, in case you ever get into a situation like that again. What kind of bender are you?"

"I'm not a bender," he replied. "That's why they got the upper hand on me."

"Well, that's just as good," I said. "Even if you don't know how to bend, you can still fight back. I'll just have to show you how."

Then, with an increasing feeling of drowsiness setting in, I decided to end the conversation and stood up from my chair. "Now if you don't mind," I yawned, stretching my arms above my head. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Hideki replied.

Then I walked into my room and shut the door, content with myself for what I'd just done. Whatever things I did tomorrow in the name of organized crime, it would all be evened out by the good I'd done that night.


	14. Book Two - Chapter 4

"Song!" I heard Hideki whine through my closed bedroom door. The sound had become commonplace in my apartment.

It had only been two weeks since Hideki started living with me, but it felt like I'd been dealing with his complaining every morning for an eternity.

Nearly every single morning since he started living here, I had woken up to the sound of him bellyaching about the lack of cereal we had in the pantry. And let's just say I'm not a morning person, so... yeah. It kind of made me want to ram my fist through a wall.

But every time I got annoyed by Hideki's complaining, I was reminded of the fact that he used to be a street orphan, and that always guilt tripped me into being more patient with him.

Then, finally, after about a week and a half of hearing it and not having the time to do anything about it, I went out to the store and got him the kind he wanted. That shut him up for a few days. But now we must have run out, because the whining had commenced once again.

After emitting a low groan of pure and utter annoyance, I threw off my covers, hopped out of my bed, and exited my room.

Sure enough, there he was standing in the middle of the kitchen shaking an empty cereal box in his hand.

"You out of Choc Rocks again?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I could've sworn there was at least a little bit left in there yesterday."

"Well, I didn't have any," I replied. "I can't eat that stuff. It's literally like biting down on a chocolate-covered rock."

"Could you pick up more for me at the store later?" he asked.

"Sorry, Hideki. I'm gonna be working really late tonight," I replied. "But I promise I'll get you some as soon as I have the time."

That was how it always worked. Once I'd finally woken up, I always ended up feeling really bad for the kid. And not even just because of his stupid cereal. But because I was hardly ever there for him.

Hideki was an orphan. He hadn't seen his parents in years, and he would probably never see them again. He had been living by himself on the street for who knows how long. Freezing his ass off every night and sleeping in the gutters. What he needed right now was a mother figure and I was the only one around to fill that position, but my stupid job kept me from spending that much time with him. I could tell he already kinda looked up to me too. Hopefully I could connect with him before he started to resent me instead.

"I'll tell you what," I said to him. "I'll sit here for a minute and have breakfast with you before I head to work. That sound good?"

"Yeah, sure," Hideki said, trying and failing to hide a grin.

I made my way across the room and plopped myself down on the couch as Hideki grabbed another cereal box out of the pantry and started pouring.

"Can you pour me one too please?" I requested, not really feeling like getting up. "Yeah, no problem," Hideki replied.

Then, in no time at all, he was on his way over to the living room holding two bowls of cereal. He placed the first one down on the coffee table right in front of me, and sat down on the couch with the second one in his hands.

"So, if you don't mind me asking," he started. "What exactly is your job? You've never really mentioned what it is you actually do."

If you had asked me that question before I got made, I would've been scrambling for some kind of a response. For an answer that sounded reasonable. But ever since this thing became my profession, I took it upon myself to act like a professional. And one of the things that entailed was having an official fake job title for whenever people asked me what I did.

So, without any hesitation, I said, "I work in construction."

"Really?" Hideki asked. He seemed shocked by the very idea.

"Yeah," I replied, taking slight offense to his surprise. "What's the matter? You don't think that's a job for a woman?"

"No, no, that's not it at all," Hideki insisted. "I just didn't know construction workers were required to wear a thousand-yuan burgundy pantsuit."

"No," I responded, understanding now what he meant. "I'm not a laborer. I don't go out there and work with my hands. It's an office job. That's why I wear a suit."

"Oh, I see," Hideki replied. "Well, that makes more sense."

My newfound roommate was able to slurp down just two spoonfuls of cereal before I started up with him again.

"Y'know, I could be a laborer if I wanted to be," I said.

"Believe me, I know," Hideki laughed. "I know how strong you are. Even if I hadn't seen you lay out those two guys who attacked me, I'd believe you could kick just about anybody's ass. Much less pick up a wooden board."

"Well, good," I said with a chuckle. "I'm glad we got that straightened out."

Then I went ahead and shoved a few spoonfuls down my own gullet, trying and failing to get the taste of morning breath out of my mouth. It didn't occur to me that I'd probably been bombarding Hideki's face with the smell while we were talking.

Then, as the awkward silence that filled the room became more and more unbearable, I finally came up with something that would brighten up his spirits even after I left.

"Hey, I've got an idea," I said to him, spewing some more morning breath right into his face. "How about tomorrow, I finally teach you some self-defense moves?"

Just as I predicted, the smile he had on his face was brighter than the sun. "That'd be awesome!" he said. "I mean, not that it'll do me much good if I'm in a fight with some bender, but I guess it's better than knowing nothing."

"Oh, trust me," I replied. "What I'm gonna teach you is enough to fight any bender."

"And what's that?" Hideki queried.

"You'll have to find out tomorrow," I said. "I've gotta start getting ready for work."

And with that, I lifted myself off the couch and headed over towards my room to start getting ready for the day.

* * *

The day was still young by the time I'd gotten to our crew's restaurant hangout. I was in the back room where we usually hung out, sitting in a wooden chair opposite Gun, who was seated behind the desk against the left wall. Sitting next to me was Chi Pa, sporting a dashing, black three-piece suit with a navy-blue tie to match.

The three of us were discussing business matters, which made me feel quite a bit flattered, as I had never really been let in on important stuff like this before.

It was funny though. While most people spent eleven o'candle in the morning darting their eyes over towards the clock every five minutes counting down the minutes left before they got to go on their lunch break, I was sitting in the back of a diner plotting the systematic intimidation of a large group of people.

It was weird. That was the first time thinking about that didn't seem to faze me.

"Alright, so here's the situation," Gun said. "Last week, we hosted a pai sho game. A big one. It was a great night. Lotta laughs. Lotta tears. We all had a good time. By the end of the week, everybody who'd lost had paid what they owed. Except for this one dumb fuck who came with no money to wager."

"Why would someone do that?" I asked instinctively.

"Happens all the time," Chi Pa replied. "These dumbasses are gambling addicts. They come to play thinking it's always their lucky night. The thrill they get from it clouds their judgment."

"Exactly," Gun said. "And lo and behold, two weeks after the game, he still hasn't paid up. Qin sent two guys over to his place a few days ago, and told him to have the money ready by today. And that's where you two come in."

"Understood," said Chi Pa.

"And if he doesn't have the money?" I asked.

"Then he's history," Gun answered.

All I did was nod my head in compliance as I said, "Understood."

* * *

Half an hour later, I was sitting in the passenger's seat of Chi Pa's Satomobile on our way to this gambling addict's apartment.

I spent almost the whole time thinking about nothing other than what we were about to do. What I was about to do. It's not like I wasn't prepared for it. I knew what I signed on for when I took that oath the night I got made. This was part of it.

I tried to take comfort in the fact that it would become a lot easier the more I did it. But that also seemed to distress me further. The idea of murder becoming no big deal to me was something I never thought I'd ever have to come to terms with. But, hey, I'd already murdered one guy. So at least it wasn't gonna be my first time.

I decided to put it out of mind and tried to strike up a conversation with Chi Pa. Even if it was about the most insignificant thing.

"So, I hear it's supposed to be a full moon tonight," I said.

"It sure is," he replied. "Tonight, waterbenders will be at their most powerful as the moon spirit blesses us with her strength."

"You always call the moon spirit a she," I said. "Is the moon spirit a she? I always thought it was a fish."

"Well, just because she's a fish doesn't mean she can't be a she," Chi Pa laughed.

"I guess you're right," I chuckled, realizing how stupid my question sounded. "But, like, how do you know the gender of the fish?"

"Because the current moon spirit was once a human girl," Chi Pa said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yep," Chi Pa replied. "Back during the war, the Fire Nation killed the original moon spirit, so she gave up her own life in order to restore the balance."

"Wow," I said. "I never even knew that."

"That's because they don't teach these things in school anymore," said Chi Pa. "In the Northern Water Tribe, everybody's always been taught the history of the moon and ocean spirits. Not here. They call this place the melting pot of the four nations, but nobody here respects the other nations' cultures. Not really. They just buy clothes based on them in shopping centers."

"I'm sorry," I said, ashamed of my lack of cultural knowledge for the first time in my life.

"Hey, it's not your fault," Chi Pa said. "I can't blame you for the education system not doing it's job."

As guilty as I felt for never knowing that much about Water Tribe culture, I was delighted to hear Chi Pa's spiritual mumbo jumbo for once. It managed to take my mind off of the reason we were together in the first place.

Only for a minute, though. By the time we'd finished the conversation, we'd reached the gambling addict's apartment.

"We're here," Chi Pa said as he parked the car on the curb.

Then the two of us climbed out of the ice blue Satomobile and made our way towards the apartment building.

* * *

By the time the two of us got to the guy's floor and we started walking down the hall, I had finally managed to build up my confidence.

I mean, I was a gangster, right? I wasn't just some rookie girl off the street anymore. I'd killed the underboss of the Agni Kai Triad with my own two hands, and that was just my first murder. That's what I had to keep telling myself. That I was a professional. That they made me for a reason. And that I was about to make Gun proud.

Once we finally reached the addict's door, Chi Pa began pounding his fist into it, probably letting the whole damn apartment building know we were there.

There was no answer, so Chi Pa banged on the door again. Still no answer.

Then, having lost all patience, Chi Pa belted his fist into the door repeatedly for what felt like about thirty seconds. "Open up!" he said. "We know you're I there!"

Finally, we heard the sound of the door unlocking, and Chi Pa ceased his knocking. The door swung open and there before us stood the gambling addict. He was slim, bald, had thick, black glasses and clearly hadn't shaved in about a week. He was very disheveled, which was to be expected I guess, considering the predicament he currently found himself in.

"Hey," he said, trying to appear nonchalant. "You guys with the Triple Threats?"

"Yeah," Chi Pa replied, stepping into the apartment without asking if he could come in.

I naturally followed suit and stepped in with him, then shut the door behind me.

"Can I get you guys anything?" asked the gambling addict. "Some tea? Maybe a snack?"

"How about we just stick with the money for now," Chi Pa said.

"Oh, right, the money," the addict said. "Um, listen, I'm sorry, but I don't exactly have it right now."

"Is that right?" Chi Pa asked.

"Look," the addict said. "I promise I'll pay you by the end of next week. You just gotta give me mo-"

Whack! Chi Pa pimp slapped the addict across the face before he could even finish, sending him crashing down to the ground while groaning in agony.

"How many fucking times have we told you to give us the money?!" Chi Pa roared. "Huh?! You degenerate gambling addict fuck!"

"I'm sorry," the addict wept, lying flat on his back with a fresh, brick-colored bruise brightening up his face. "I'm sorry. Just please give me more time!"

Rather than comply with the man's request, Chi Pa quite literally kicked the guy when he was down, landing several blows with his feet on the addict's torso.

It only took me a moment to follow his lead, joining him in kicking the poor man myself, until, finally, we relented.

Then Chi Pa bent some water out of the vapor in the air. He formed several small drops and then hardened them into ice, effectively shaping them into ice bullets. "It's pretty funny, isn't it, Song?" Chi Pa asked me. "Whenever this guy's gambling, he always thinks it's his lucky day. But I'd say his luck just ran out for the last time."

"It sure has," I replied, forming a flame in the palm of my hand.

"NO!" the addict wailed, moments before the elements of fire and ice flew from our fingertips. In just a few intensely chaotic moments, the once undisturbed apartment had an ice bullet-ridden corpse with blood pouring out of it right in the center of the living room. Oh, and with a pretty huge singe mark on the wall.

By the time all the shots had been fired, I had crumpled down to the floor in near hysterics, barely able to breathe. My chest was hurting and I felt like I was about to pass out. It was at this moment I realized that this was never something I was going to be able to get used to. It would never be possible.

Rather than put me down like I expected, Chi Pa lowered himself down on one knee and actually attempted to comfort me. "Hey," he said. "Are you okay?"

"I can't do it, Chi," I huffed, fighting just to draw breath. "I can't do it. I can't."

"It's alright, Song," Chi Pa assured me. "It's always hard for beginners."

Finally my eyes began to water as I felt the sting of my tears. I felt so embarrassed to be crying right in front of Chi Pa, but I couldn't help it. All I could do was look away from the body and stare up at the ceiling as I tried to shift my focus to something else. Anything else.

"I can whack other gangsters," I sobbed. "Other people in this business. I just can't take out innocent people, Chi. I can't."

"Man," Chi Pa muttered in response. "Fuck Zolt for sticking us with this job. Slimy cocksucker."

That managed to get my attention. My focus had now been completely drawn away from the dead guy in the room and had shifted over to Zolt. "What do you mean?" I queried.

"Qin originally stuck Zolt's crew with this job," Chi Pa explained. "Zolt convinced him to give it to ours. He said Gun was managing the pai sho game, so it was his crew's responsibility. I wasn't supposed to tell you."

"That's bullshit," I growled. "He did it to get to me."

"That's not true, Song," Chi Pa insisted.

"Oh, really?" I asked.

"Yes," Chi Pa replied.

"Then why didn't Gun tell me about it? Why couldn't you tell me about it?" I asked.

It seemed to me that Chi Pa was a pretty bad liar. He didn't even try to come up with an excuse to defend himself with. Still. I appreciated the fact that he told me. It meant I was about to kick Zolt's ass for the third time in a row. And you know how much fun I had doing that.

* * *

On the cab ride over to the deli that functioned as the usual hangout for Zolt's crew, I had time to collect myself and figure out some very important things that would affect my life going forward.

That was actually an especially important day. It was the day I established what would be forever my number one rule for as long as I was in this business. The only people I would kill were the people who were a part of this thing of ours. Who had made the conscious decision to be a party to the triad life and everything that entailed.

Everybody else was off limits.

If Qin had a problem with that, he could kiss my ass. Any of them could.

Finally, I reached the deli, paid the cab driver, and hopped out onto the sidewalk. It didn't take me long to find the slimy little cocksucker. He was sitting outside with a bunch of his pals, shooting the shit.

The fact that he had a bunch of his cohorts around him definitely wouldn't help my odds if we actually started scrapping. I felt like I could take most of 'em though. Two of them were Grimy Gao, who I felt certain I could take, and Shady Shin, some newcomer who had even less experience than me. The only one I was afraid of was Twitchy Toji. I'd heard stories about some of the altercations this guy had been in, and it was enough to chill you to the bone.

Still. I wasn't gonna let any of them intimidate me. At the very least, they were all gonna get a piece of my mind before I left.

"Hey!" I shouted as I approached the patio tables they were sitting at.

"Hey, look who it is!" said Zolt. "The freak who can bend two elements! So, how'd the job go? You and Chi Pa have fun?"

"You've got a lot of nerve, you sack of shit!" I bellowed. "I know you stuck us with that assignment just to fuck with me!"

"Whoa, whoa take it easy," Zolt said. "How was I supposed to know Gun would send you? Y'know, you really oughtta get your facts straight before you start accusing people of shit."

"Stop playing coy with me, you motherless fuck," I shot back.

Suddenly, Zolt sprung up out of his chair like a firecracker, the flames of rage filling his eyes. "Hey, I said I didn't do anything," he insisted. "Now you watch your fucking mouth."

"I'm not afraid of you, asshole," I said, taking an attack stance. "Or any of you for that matter."

Before Zolt or anyone else could even respond, there was a deafening pop that rang throughout the air, causing everyone to practically jump ten feet off the ground. Everybody looked to see three men, all dressed in dark trench coats and fedoras, approaching us from across the street. Then we all watched in horror as Zolt toppled to the floor with blood gushing from his stomach.


	15. Book Two - Chapter 5

It was so ironic. Just when I thought I was gonna get to go the whole day without killing anybody, there I was in the middle of an ambush. Forced to murder in self-defense.

The three men the Agni Kais sent to kill us were closing in like a pack of hyena-lions. They had already taken down Zolt, and now they were intent on taking the rest of us out.

I ducked immediately as the one on the far left sent a fire disk roaring past my head, then shot a slab of earth back at him in retaliation.

He sidestepped the attack and unloaded on me with a barrage of red-hot fire blasts, which I countered by raising an earth wall to block it. Then, with my full might, I slammed my fist into the left side of the earth wall, breaking the wall in half and sending the left side rocketing towards my assailant.

Not having anticipated the suddenness of my blow, the firebending hitman was knocked clean off his feet, flying straight back into a fruit stand on the other side of the street. Just to make sure he was dead, I shot a fireball right into his face. He became my second kill.

As I turned to help my fellow Triple Threats, I saw that they already had the situation under control.

Grimy Gao had already metalbent somebody's car door into the middle guy's stomach, and the guy on the right was getting his ass kicked by Twitchy Toji and Shady Shin. Before Gao or I even had the time to take a shot at him, Toji shot a lightning bolt directly into his face, causing his head to explode and a slew of blood and brain chunks to litter the street.

Once the three attackers were taken care of, the four of us rushed over to Zolt. He was still sprawled out on the ground with blood gushing from his stomach, and was still alive, much to my shock. With all the blood and all the wheezing he was doing, he looked like a wounded animal.

"Shin!" Shouted Toji. "Go inside and call Qin! Tell him to send Lu to clean this up!" Then he tossed Shin a set of car keys. "And bring the fucking car around!" Not a moment after Toji gave the order, Shin was already bolting into the deli faster than an eel hound, on his way to find a phone.

Meanwhile, the rest of us knelt down around Zolt, watching him slip away more and more by the minute. The only words he could get out, albeit very slowly, were, "Those slimy... Agni Kai... cocksuckers!"

"It's alright, they're dead," said Gao. "We're gonna get you to a hospital and you're gonna be alright."

It was weird. I knew that Zolt was my worst enemy. I knew that I hated him with every fiber of my being, and that nothing would give me greater pleasure than to get revenge on him for everything he'd done to me. But in those few short minutes where none of us were sure whether he would live or die... I kind of felt this slight twinge of compassion for him.

I felt kinda bad about it at first. It made me feel like some soft-hearted old lady. But, by the time Shin's car came screeching up to the curb, I had decided it was a good thing. That even though I was a killer now, I could still feel compassion for others. Even if it was someone I despised.

As soon as Shin reached the curb, we all climbed into his Satomobile. With the bloody Zolt in tow, we raced away from the deli and made our way towards the nearest hospital.

* * *

Three hours had passed since we got to the hospital. Zolt was in the emergency room, finally in stable condition. The doctors managed to stop the bleeding, and were treating the third-degree burns he received. They told us he was very lucky to be alive.

Meanwhile, I was standing out in the waiting room with quite a few of my fellow Triple Threats. Toji, Gao, and Shin were all still there, along with Gun, Qin, and Rampaging Ryu.

Now that the chaos had finally subsided, and we all knew that Zolt was gonna be okay, we could finally begin discussing the incident and how we would move forward.

"I want immediate retaliation for this," Qin said. "Gun, I want you to send your crew out to find and take care of Hothead Hanzo."

"You got it," Gun replied. "I'll put Mong on it. And Song too."

Great. Just when I thought I was finally gonna have a break today. In my book, going to a gambling addict's apartment to kill him, and having to fight off three Agni Kai hitmen was more than enough work for one day, but I guess I was about to put in some overtime.

And I'd heard of Hothead Hanzo, and let's just say, there was a reason he earned that name. After Khan died, and they promoted Mao to underboss, Hanzo filled his old position, and became the Agni Kais' latest capo. And while the temper that earned him his nickname was a great asset, it was also his greatest weakness. A weakness we would no doubt try our hardest to exploit.

But as much as I didn't wanna do this job, I figured I may as well try to seem at least somewhat enthusiastic about it. So I made myself look determined, nodded my head and said, "Happy to do it."

"There's one more thing," Qin said, scanning the room and taking a much more hushed tone than before. "After Lu finished cleaning everything up, he called me and said he noticed something strange. He said that two of the assassins' faces were damaged beyond recognition, but he saw the face of the third. He said he had no idea who it even was."

"Yeah! We didn't recognize 'em either!" said Gao.

"So, what does that mean?" Gun queried.

"It means that Tang hired someone outside the Agni Kais to carry out the hit," Qin explained.

"Hold up, hold up," said Rampaging Ryu. "That's an awfully big stretch. It seems much more likely to me that Lu probably doesn't know every single soldier the Agni Kais have working for them."

"Hey," said Gun. "Lu's been in this business way longer than most people. Even longer than me. If there's a single person he doesn't know at this point, in any triad, I'd be very surprised."

"Exactly," said Qin.

"So, what does this mean?" asked Shin. "Why would the Agni Kais hire outsiders to whack us instead of sending their own guys?"

"I don't know," said Qin. "That's what we intend to find out. But for now, it is imperative that we keep this a secret. We're already at war. We don't need any more panic to spread."

Outsiders. Tang used outsiders to try and kill me and Zolt. The amount of alarms this set off in my head should've caused me to freak out a lot more than I did.

This was the latest in a series of strange occurrences that had happened recently involving the war. All of which involved me somehow. First I overhear Qin and Zolt talking about some woman they were suspicious of. Then Kodana implies to me that she wants inside information on the Triple Threats, and borderline threatens me once I start acting suspicious. Then, somehow, Yin finds out about this conversation and tells me to keep it to myself. One thing was for sure. Not everything was as it seemed.

Then, speaking of Kodana, the boss of the Red Monsoons herself came strutting into the place in the same fashion she always did. Seemingly without a care in the world.

Accompanying her was a woman I had only ever seen once before, at the infamous meeting where the war officially began. It was the Red Monsoon underboss, Lorako. She was short, kinda hefty, and had a face sorta like a badgermole, and I had heard she was very... direct with people.

"Qin!" Kodana said with raised arms.

"Kodana," Qin replied. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Well, surely you didn't think I wasn't gonna stop by after hearing the horrible news, did you?" Kodana said.

"How is Mr. Lightning Bolt holding up?" Lorako queried.

"He's in stable condition," Qin answered.

"I'm very happy to hear that," said Kodana. "Thank the spirits he was the only one that got hurt."

"Yes," said Qin. "We were all very fortunate."

"And Song!" Kodana said, turning to her right to face me. "So nice to see you again. I mean, it really is. I would've thought that if the Agni Kais were aiming for any one person in particular, it would be the person who started this whole thing in the first place."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked immediately, without even thinking about the tone I was taking.

"Nothing," Kodana said. "I just find it strange is all."

All it would've taken was one more sentence out of either one of our mouths. One more sprinkling of words into the garden of tension would cause the seeds of confrontation to grow until they were ripe. She was being coy about something, and I wasn't gonna stand there and take it. Not from her. Not in front of all of my associates.

Thankfully, Gun decided to step in before anything started. "Well, thanks for stopping by, Kodana," he said. "You too, Lorako. I'm sure Zolt will appreciate the gesture once we tell him. Now, if you'll excuse us, Song and I have to leave."

Normally I'd have been annoyed by Gun speaking for me, but in this case, I was grateful, if it got me away from Kodana. So, I just went along with it, as I'm sure he knew I would.

"Nice seeing you again, Kodana," I said as the two of us walked away from the others, and out the exit door.

* * *

Later that night, I found myself sitting in a parked car in Linuki, on the most average-looking street in Republic City. Just a line of delis and dry cleaners and dentist's offices, and all kinds of unassuming shops you'd find in a suburban neighborhood.

The one we had our eye on that night was a diner with the simplest name possible. 'Lee's Place'. Did I mention that Linuki was inhabited mostly by firebenders?

The plan was actually pretty simple. We just had to wait for Hothead Hanzo to show up, then go inside and whack him. The hard part was trying to make conversation with the person I haven't named, but keep referring to. Madman Mong.

We'd been sitting there on the curb across the street from the diner for over an hour, and every conversation I'd tried to strike up ended in about twelve seconds due to lack of interest. At that point, I considered it a personal mission to find at least one thing he was willing to talk about.

"So, uh," I said, after about two more minutes of silence. "How'd you get the nickname, 'Madman Mong'?"

"Through the Tribunal of the Four Triads," Mong replied.

"What?" I asked, highly puzzled.

"Yeah," said Mong. "A person gets their nickname when the leaders of all four triads get together and decide on one."

Huh. Well, that was about the weirdest thing I'd heard all day. "Are you serious?" I asked, not entirely sure if he was joking.

"Of course not! What's the matter with you?" he laughed. "I got it like anybody else got theirs. Somebody said it once and it caught on."

Feeling slightly embarrassed, I did my best to brush off that little moment and carry on the conversation. "Right, but I mean, how did you get that particular nickname? You don't seem like a madman to me."

"It's because of my body count, sweetheart," Mong replied. "I've carried out more hits than anybody else in this entire triad."

Finally we were getting somewhere. I was starting to learn more about him, and my hope was that we could build something off of that.

Sadly, before we could continue the conversation, we spotted Hothead Hanzo walking right down the street on his way to Lee's Place.

He was a real clean-cut motherfucker. Flawless face, gorgeous, jet-black hair, all slick and combed back, and a pretty impressive body to boot. I definitely wouldn't have minded breaking me off a piece of that. Not that I would actually be stupid enough to try. I think dating one Agni Kai was enough for one lifetime.

The second we saw him strut into the place, we sprang into action. The two of us got out of the car, cloaked in heavy, black trench coats and fedoras, and crossed to the other side of the street. We also kept our heads down so that he wouldn't recognize us if he looked out the window.

Then, once we got to the door, Mong stopped and turned around to face me. "Follow my lead, alright?" he said.

Then, with the cute, little ding of a bell, we entered the place and took a quick gaze around. Luckily for us, the place was mostly empty. It was just Hanzo, some guy behind the counter, and some poor blonde girl sitting over in a booth. Hanzo had plopped himself down on a stool at the counter.

The two of us headed in that direction, and were greeted on the other side by the guy who I assumed owned the joint. "Hey, fellas," he said. "What'll ya have?"

"You know what?" Mong said. "I think I'll have the turkey-goose. The one sittin' at the counter. Burnt to a crisp."

By the time Hanzo realized what was going down, Mong thrust his fist forward and sent a fireball crackling right into his side, as he'd only turned halfway around.

The Agni Kai captain emitted a prolonged yowl of agony, clutching at his side as he fell to the floor. "Ah, fuck, fuck, fuck!" he cried out. "Ah, you Triple Threat motherfuckers!"

"Whoa-ho!" said an amused Mong. "You suck your boyfriend's cock with that mouth, pretty boy?"

"Look, guys, come on," said the guy behind the counter. "Don't do this in here, please."

"Shut up, unless you want some too!" Mong threatened. Then the two of us walked over to the fallen Hanzo, standing around him, as if we were trying to prevent him from jumping up and escaping. Not that there was any chance of that happening.

"Hey, toots," Mong said to the girl sitting over in the booth. "Do me a favor and take that sweet ass of yours outside, alright?"

Without hesitating for a moment, the girl flew up out of her seat and was practically sprinting by the time she got out the door.

Then we turned our attention back to Hanzo.

"Well, Hanzie," Mong said. "I guess this is where it ends. Say hi to Khan for me when you see him."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Hanzo begged, moments before the two of us unloaded on him, each of us bending our own concentrated streams of fire right into his chest.

After about seven or eight seconds of firebending at him, I bolted outside, trying to put some much-needed distance between me and the body.

It wasn't actually killing him that made me run outside. It wasn't watching his skin melt off like wax off a candle. It was the smell. The vomit-inducing stench of Hanzo's burning flesh nearly had me hunched over and nearly retching in the middle of the street.

Mong came outside soon after and came up to me once I'd finally stood up straight again. "The smell get ya?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I wasn't ready for it."

"Yeah," Mong chuckled. "It got me at first too. Now I'm just too used to it. Come on. Let's get in the car before the cops show up."

It was pretty clear to me after witnessing that whole deal in the restaurant why Mong had earned his nickname. It was also clear to me that trying to make conversation with him was a bad idea. I knew when I first joined Gun's crew that Mong was my least favorite out of all of the crew members, and that he didn't seem like the kind of guy I would wanna go out of my way to interact with. Witnessing him at his most vile only reinforced those thoughts.

I could tolerate behavior like that, but becoming friends with him would expose me to it regularly, and that wasn't something I wanted.

The two of us got into the car and Mong started the ignition, pulling away from the block in a hurry so that we weren't around when the cops showed up.

The instant we pulled off the curb, Mong turned on the radio, and the familiar sound of pro-bending commentators came pouring out of the speakers. He already had it set to that station, meaning that he listened to this on a regular. Well, what do ya know? Something we could finally talk about.

"You listen to pro-bending?" I asked.

"Of course," Mong replied. "I've been a fan ever since they invented it."

"Well, it just so happens I'm a life-long pro-bending fan myself," I informed him.

"Is that a fact?" Mong asked. "Well, then you and me have a lot to talk about! Who do you pull for?"

"The Elephant Koi," I replied.

"Ah, not bad, not bad," said Mong. "I'm more of an Eagle Hawks man myself. Haven't missed a single game since the first season."

"Yeah?" I replied. "I never really watched them much, but I always respected them." "Ditto to your elephant koi," said Mong.

Now you might find it weird that we were having such a calm discussion about pro-bending after shooting fire into a man until he died, but, frankly, I found it was an effective way to take my mind off of it.

Plus, I finally got to connect two members of Gun's crew in the same day, so, yeah. I'd say that was a pretty good day overall.


	16. Book Two - Chapter 6

I feel like people who pay attention to organized crime often wonder about what the most exciting part of it is. Whether it's the thrill you get from busting up a shop and taking the owner's money, or the rush you get from all the pai sho gambling. And I'd like to think the answer varies. But I always assume the answer is for most people what it is for me. Carrying out a hit.

Whether you take pleasure in killing other people or not, I don't think it can be denied that taking a hit out on someone is nothing short of exhilarating. You may have some feelings of guilt or maybe a little somberness after you've finished whacking the guy. But I dare you to find a time when your heart is beating faster than in those few short moments when you're giving it to 'em.

However, that was only a fraction of what that particular job actually was. Most of it was usually spent waiting in a parked car somewhere near wherever the target was located, just waiting for the guy to show up.

And if I had been stuck with any other person in Gun's crew, that wouldn't really have bothered me. All it took was one assignment with each member of the crew for me to finally be able to talk to them. But, unfortunately, tonight I was stuck with Yin. Y'know. Pain in the ass, never speaks a spirit-forsaken word, Yin. So, there was no chance of any kind of conversation taking place.

The place we had our eyes on was a whorehouse down in Dragon Flats which, thankfully, was our turf, so that eliminated the risk of any Agni Kai or Terra soldiers getting the jump on us.

No, that night's hit had nothing to do with the war that all four of the triads were waging against each other. Tonight we were targeting some small-time pimp who we found out had been withholding the money he owed us. We were supposed to making thirty percent off of whatever his usual income was, but it turns out his usual income had nearly tripled over the last several months. So, to put it simply, when Qin found out just how much money he was owed that this guy was keeping for himself, there wasn't even really a discussion. He just instantly decided this guy's ass was grass.

All we had to do was wait for the guy to come out. Lu and I had scouted the place out the past two nights, and we knew that he came out front every night around two for a smoke.

Lu was actually supposed to be here with me tonight, but seeing as how his grandson was apparently in the hospital, I got stuck with Yin at the last minute. I couldn't be mad at Lu, I guess. I just wish they had stuck me with Chi Pa or Kyoko instead. Anyone but Yin.

Then, right as the candle we had in the back seat gave us the two flashes that signified it was two o'candle, we saw the pimp emerge from the brothel and head down the steps that led to the sidewalk.

He was pretty much what you would expect. Some pale, sleazy-looking asshole with a gross, ink-black goatee and combed-down dreadlocks, which were almost completely covered by the dazzlingly bright white fedora that rested on top of his head. His most notable feature, though, was the rainbow-colored monstrosity of an overcoat that he had draped over himself. It was fur too, so that made it look even more tacky.

It really kind of made me sick to think about what he probably did to the girls he had working for him. I could tell just by looking at him that he was one of those types that made sex only about him too. I hated guys like that. Plus, he just seemed like a real sleazebag.

Once he'd taken out his cigarette and started puffing away, Yin had decided it was time for us to make our move. "Follow my lead," she said, in her usual monotone voice.

As usual, I complied without uttering a response, and followed her out of the car. The two of us casually made our way across the street, with me looking both ways first and Yin just pressing straight forward. Then, once we got to the other side of the street, Yin approached the pimp, with me following close behind.

"Hi," Yin said, in a voice that sounded nothing like her usual self. "This is the sixty-fifth street brothel, right?" She sounded like some rich airhead who had never done anything like this before in her life. She also threw in a dash of nervousness to her voice that made the whole thing seem a lot more convincing. It was amazing to me how she was always able to seemingly change her personality in an instant.

"Yeah," said the pimp, in a voice that sounded like it belonged to a nineteen-year-old. "What's it to ya?"

"Well," Yin started. "It's me and my sister's birthday today. We're twins, and-"

"Twins?" the pimp interrupted. "Y'all don't look the same to me."

"We're fraternal twins," I piped up. "That means we're twins that don't look alike."

"Alright," the pimp replied with a shrug. "Continue."

"Well, anyway," Yin said. "It's our birthday, and, like, even though we always play it safe and do the right thing, tonight we said to each other, you know what? We're gonna take a risk and do something wild! So, we'd like to book two rooms in your brothel please. An hour each."

This caused the pimp's face to light up like a neon sign. I didn't even wanna imagine what he was picturing us doing to his girls in his head. The pervert. "Damn, alright!" he said. "You two ladies wanna play for the other team! That's hot. I dig it. Alright, lemme just show you inside."

The pimp then turned to lead us up the steps and into the brothel. The instant he had his back turned, Yin and I were ready to strike. Yin was gonna knock him to the ground with a water blast, and I was gonna earthbend the steps into spikes that would strike clean through him. Two simple moves.

We waited until we got a few steps up, then, just as Yin was about to lay it on him, the sleazy asshole stopped and turned back around to face us. "Yo, just one thing before we head inside," he said. "You guys aren't cops, are ya?"

"What?" Yin replied with a chuckle. "Uh, no, of course not. Do we look like cops to you?"

"No. I guess not," said the pimp. "But I can't just take your word for it, can I?"

"Trust us," I chimed in. "We're not cops. If there's any way we can prove it, we will."

"Well," the pimp grinned, reaching his arm out towards my hair. "There may be one way you two ladies can prove it."

I reacted the moment his disgusting, grease-ridden palm made contact with my hair. In a moment I was actually kinda proud of in hindsight, I unloaded on the pimp with the swiftest, most badass back-handed slap to the face you had ever seen, ironically called the pimp slap.

Not wasting a single moment now that the jig was up, Yin leaped into action and drowned the pimp in a torrent of water, nailing him in the torso and forcing him back against the steps.

Then I sent two earth spikes straight through his chest, causing a horrible choking sound to spew from his throat, along with a splash of crimson-red blood.

"Let's go!" Yin ordered, booking it back down the stairs and towards the car.

I followed her right after and ran as fast as I could back down those steps, then hopped into the driver's seat as Yin got in on the other side. Then I put the car in gear and slammed my foot down on the gas, screeching away like a soaring eagle hawk.

"Good job being so quick on the draw," I said.

"I could've been quicker if you hadn't slapped-" Yin started before the sound of a metallic clunk rang through the air.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked.

"It sounded like you hit something," Yin replied.

I knew that we hadn't put very much distance between us and the brothel yet, but my natural instinct was to get out and check to see what I'd hit, so that's what I did.

I regretted it when I saw the bruised and bloodied body of the man I'd hit with my car.

He was a bald guy who was a little hefty, but not fat. My theory was that he was on some kind of weight-loss regiment, and had was close to finally getting it done. Once I set my sights on that lifeless husk that, just moments ago, had a soul inside it, everything else in the world just stopped existing. It was kinda like in a play where all the lights go down and there was a spotlight just shining on me and the body. But rather than give some huge theatrical reaction, I just stood there staring down at it for a moment like I was in a trance. No real thoughts went through my head during that time. Not a lot of feelings either. I just a felt the strongest sense of disbelief.

Then the spotlight disappeared and the stage lights went back up as Yin came bolting out of the car and knelt down to pick up the body. "Come on! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" she hollered at me. "Help me get him in the trunk!"

Finally understanding the reality of the situation, I bent down and, with a bit more effort than I was expecting to have to use, picked up the deceased pedestrian and lugged him over to the trunk. Then we slammed it shut and hauled ass back into the car before speeding away into the night.

* * *

The creaking metallic sound of the trunk of our car opening startled me when it rang through the air behind the Triple Threat hideout. Obviously I wasn't paying attention when I opened it before, but damn, did that thing need to be oiled.

What startled me even more was the gruesome sight of the corpse we'd thrown back there. His mouth wide open, his eyes bulging out, and his mangled limbs that were in places they shouldn't have been able to reach. It took everything I had to look down directly at him and not let anyone see the way I felt about it.

Just a few seconds after opening the trunk, however, Qin put my immense feelings of guilt to rest. "Oh, thank the spirits," he said. "It's just Ryo."

"Who's Ryo?" I asked.

"One of B.D. Kai's associates," Qin replied.

B.D. Kai. That was the name of the pimp. I had forgotten it until Qin reminded me. B.D. stood for Big Daddy, by the way.

"You said he had a paper bag in his hands when you hit him?" Qin asked.

"Yeah," Yin said.

"Then he was probably just coming back from a food run," Qin deduced.

"So, we didn't hit a civilian?" I asked.

"No," Qin replied. "Or else we'd be doing some serious damage control right now."

Then it occurred to me for the first time to ask a certain question I'd been wanting the answer to. "So, how come we had to put him in the trunk again?"

"If a civilian is ever accidentally killed in the crossfire, it's standard practice to get rid of the body," Qin answered. "That way, they can't connect that person's disappearance directly to us. Usually I have whoever's responsible bury the body up in the mountains."

"But since it wasn't a civilian, we can just toss him into the river, right?" Yin asked.

"No," Qin said. "You girls' reckless behavior could've just as easily resulted in a civilian getting killed. You were lucky it was this loser instead."

"So, what does that mean?" Yin queried.

"It means you better start packing," Qin replied. "Because you two are taking a trip up to the mountains tomorrow."

"Why do I have to go?" Yin asked. "Song was the one driving. Not me."

"Hey!" I replied, shooting her an annoyed glare. The fucking nerve of that bitch.

"Because I said so!" Qin shot back. "As far as I'm concerned, you're both at fault. Now go home. Get some rest. You're leaving tomorrow."

Then, without even turning to acknowledge me, Yin stormed off too, leaving me all feeling like a complete and total screw-up.

Then Qin turned to go back inside himself, but before he left, I managed to ask him one more question. "Hey," I said, prompting him to turn back around. "What makes you think he was out on a food run?"

"I used to have to stand guard in all sorts of places just like him," Qin answered. "Usually with a crew. At some point, one of you is gonna have to go on a food run. It's what gets you through the night."

Then the Triple Threat boss finally made his way inside, leaving me totally alone out back. Only the frosty, Republic City air was there to keep me company until I finally got home.

After a twenty-minute train ride uptown, I arrived back at my apartment. The whole train ride there, I was just dreading going on this trip tomorrow. Especially considering it was with Yin. As if doing a job together wasn't strenuous enough, now we were gonna have to spend upwards of two whole days together.

But then, once I got off the train and started walking, I figured, hey… at least it was spring. During the fall and the winter, the mountains were always coated with snow, and that was half the reason I dreaded going up there so much. But it was springtime, so there was one positive at least. Sure it was always cold at night, but I could deal with that pretty easily.

Something that was less easy to deal with, however, was the horrific sight on the other side of my door once I opened it.

I snapped back instantly, throwing my hands over my face in terror once I saw Hideki laid out on the couch with a magazine in his hand doing… y'know.

He sprang into motion in an instant, attempting to stand up, but instead flopping onto the floor with his pants around his ankles.

"Fuck's sake, Hideki!" I cried out. "What is the matter with you?!"

"You said you weren't gonna be back until ten!" Hideki replied, pulling up his pants and re-fastening his belt. "You can look now," he added.

I took my hands away from my face and turned my gaze back to the teenage orphan. "Geez, Hideki, where did you even get that magazine?" I inquired.

"I got it from the news stand downstairs," Hideki replied. "With the money you gave me earlier."

"That money was for food," I said.

"We had enough food here," Hideki shot back.

"Alright, well, anyway," I said. "I'm gonna let this go, but please don't ever let me catch you doing that again."

"I can't take care of my business ever?" Hideki asked, incredulous at the idea.

"You can do it however much you want," I replied. "Just don't let me catch you doing it. And at the very least, have the decency to do it in the bathroom."

"Fine," Hideki said. "I'm sorry."

"If it brings you any comfort," I said. "You'll have the whole house to yourself for the next couple of days. You could bring a tigerdillo up here if you wanted and I'd never know it was here. Y'know, assuming you know how to cover it up."

"What do you mean?" Hideki asked. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving town tomorrow for work," I replied. "I won't be back till Thursday."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"It's in Hu Xin City," I answered, having prepared all the details for my cover story on the way home.

"Oh," Hideki said dejectedly.

It really broke my heart a little bit to see that he was upset over me leaving. But at the same time, it felt kinda nice to see that he felt so close to me now. Having him around could be a little bothersome at times, and, when you really looked at it, him living in my apartment was more than a little peculiar. But something about it just made sense, y'know? There was some kind of connection there that neither of us spoke on, but we both knew was present, and that connection was what always assured me I had done the right thing by taking him in. To me, it felt like I had a little brother in the house. I assumed to him I was a big sister.

"You gonna be okay by yourself for a few days?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Hideki said rather defensively. He probably thought I was coddling him. "I just feel like lately you've finally been working less than you used to. Now you're off on some two-day-long retreat?"

"I know," I said. "I promise though. Once I get back, we're gonna make up for lost time."

"I know," said Hideki. "I don't want you to think I'm clingy by the way," he added. "Like I'm some kid who can't stand to be alone. I actually prefer being by myself. I just really like having you around."

All I could do after hearing a statement that warmed my heart in such a way was to let out a short "Aww," before adding, "I like having you around too, buddy. And I know you're not clingy. You're not a little kid. You're a teenager. I just know you don't have anybody, so… I'd like to try and be there for you as much as I can."

"And I'll always be thankful for that," said Hideki.

"Alright. Enough of this mushy stuff. I've gotta go pack," I said. "Go ahead and start making plans for tomorrow if you want," I added, jokingly. "I know a guy who can get you a tigerdillo if you want. And maybe even an armadillo bear."

"He's gotta be able to get me a hippo cow or the whole thing I have planned is ruined," Hideki joked back.

"Ooh, damn," I said. "He _doesn't_ have access to hippo cows. Oh, well. That's a shame. I guess you're gonna have to settle for not tearing up my apartment."

"Aw, darn," Hideki replied. "Maybe another time then."

After letting another chuckle escape from my lips, I sauntered off into my room and took out a duffel bag from my closet as I began to pack for the journey ahead the next day.

* * *

Y'know, when I got in the car with Yin the following afternoon, I figured there wouldn't be much talking involved on our way up to the mountains. But I thought surely there would be at least one fucking exchange of words at some point during the two-and-a-half hour car ride. That's what I got for giving her the benefit of the doubt, I guess.

By the time we finally reached our destination, I was ready to fucking kill myself due to boredom, but seeing the place we were staying in did brighten up my spirits a little bit.

It was a quaint little cabin on a mountainside that sported a breathtaking view of the landscape that surrounded us. Staring off the mountainside into the gorge that lay below was something I could've done all day, and something I planned to do a lot of given the extensive amount of time we were gonna be up there. I just thanked my lucky stars again that it was spring and I could actually enjoy all of this. Coming up to the mountains wasn't something I got to do often. I was so used to the hustle and bustle of the city, so being up here was pretty much like being on the other side of the world. In a good way, of course.

It had been two hours since we'd gotten to the cabin, and Yin had wasted no time getting straight to work. The bitch had us out there digging no more than fifteen minutes after we stepped out of the car.

What pissed me off more than anything was that, per Qin's instructions, I couldn't just open up a hole in the ground by earthbending. No, no, no. We had to be taught a lesson. Stupidest fucking bullshit I'd ever heard in my life.

And after two fucking hours, the two of us had finally finished digging the grave. I was so exhausted by the time it was over, my arms felt like they were about to fall out of their fucking sockets. I didn't even feel like lifting the guy out of the trunk and tossing him into the hole, a fact I very plainly let Yin know. "That's it," I wheezed. "I'm done for today. We can put him in tomorrow."

"Or we could just do it now," Yin said.

"We don't need to do it now," I insisted. "There's no point anyway. We don't want him lying down in the hole in plain sight in case anyone walks by."

"Who's gonna walk by?" Yin asked, a pinch of irritation cracking the barrier monotony in her voice. "There's miles and miles of mountain around us and nobody even knows this place is here."

"Then throw him in yourself if you care so damn much," I retorted without caring enough to raise my voice. "The sun is gonna go down in, like, an hour, and I wanna sit out here and watch it set."

Then, without waiting for a reply, I threw down my shovel and walked over to the edge of the mountainside. After taking a seat and fixing my eyes on the horizon, I just sat there and gazed out at the marvel that was the landscape that lay before me. The dips and curves. The majestic peaks that pierced through the clouds and defied the idea that they couldn't reach past the stratosphere. And so much green sprawling out for miles and miles, it was enough to cause a sensory overload. I was so tranquil in those moments, which I rarely ever was anymore, even if I had gotten used to my life of crime.

Then, in a moment I never could've anticipated, Yin sat down next to me and locked eyes with the setting sun herself.

She didn't say anything. She barely even moved. And the two of us just sat there looking out into the horizon until the sun finally went down.

* * *

An hour later, I weirdly enough found myself in a position where I was sitting at the dining room table, waiting for Yin to finish making our dinner. I had no idea she even knew how to cook.

But sure enough, after fifteen minutes of waiting in my room, and ten minutes of waiting in the dining room, there she came to the table with a bowl full of stewed sea prunes.

"I didn't know you could cook," I said, breaking the silence that'd had us in its grip ever since we'd finished digging the grave.

"Why would you?" Yin replied as she placed the bowl on the table. Her snarky demeanor was actually starting to test my patience now, as opposed to just being aggravating.

"That's a good point," I replied. "Why would I know that about you? Why would I know anything about you? You hardly ever say a single word."

"Yep," said Yin rather bluntly as she took a seat at the table herself. "That's me."

Then she began to devour her sea prunes, and silence once again enveloped the house. There was a brief moment where I knew I should've just let it go and leave it at that. That I should've just allowed the lack of conversation to persist. But something inside me told me to press further, and I'm not proud to say I didn't really try that hard to ignore it.

"You think maybe you could change that about yourself?" I remarked.

"Look, just shut up and eat your prunes," Yin responded instantly. "Okay?"

"I mean, seriously," I continued. "Not only would it not kill you to speak, it wouldn't kill you to show any kind of basic human emotion either."

"If you had been through what I've been through-" Yin retorted.

"Oh, you've been through some rough stuff, huh?" I replied. "I don't know if you remember, but the only reason I'm here is because I got abducted by you guys and had my life ripped away from me."

"What do you want from me?" Yin shot back, finally letting herself sound irritated with me.

"I want you to stop being such a bitch to me," I said. "What the fuck did I ever do to you to make you treat me this way? Huh? To have you constantly treat me like I'm a burden and to undercut my emotions with your snarky comments?"

"Oh, so you think I'm out to get you?" Yin said. "That's it, huh? You think I get off on putting you down?"

"I never said that," I replied. "But, yeah, it sure seems like it,"

"Grow up!" Yin spat. "I talk to you like I talk to everybody else. It's not my fault if your feelings get hurt. And you're acting like I've never saved your ass either."

"Saved my ass?" I asked, incredulous that she was making bullshit up at this point. "Oh, you mean the night when we drove around killing people and you did nothing but cover your own ass whenever we got in a fight?"

"No," Yin said. "I mean just last night when I failed to mention to Qin the reason you hit that guy we've got out there in my trunk."

I took a pause before responding, unsure of exactly what she knew. "What do you mean?" I queried.

"I mean you were drunk the whole night, right down to the moment I left the headquarters," Yin said.

Fuck. I had absolutely no idea that she even knew that. But it was true. I had been drinking at Gan's nightclub from the early afternoon to the early evening, and it carried over through the rest of the night until I finally sobered up during the train ride home. It was embarrassing that my recently-formed drinking habit was seeping over into my work, to the point where people noticed.

"How did you know that?" I inquired.

"Qin may not be able to tell if a person is drunk, but I can," Yin replied. "You weren't very good at hiding it."

Then there was another pause as I began to contemplate something that I put into the form of a question a second later. "Why did you cover for me?" I asked.

"Because, believe it or not, Song, I'm not out to get you," Yin answered. "I'm blunt with you because that's who I am, and I'm not going to change that. I don't speak, because I don't want to, and that's not gonna change either. And I've covered for you when I had nothing to gain from it and a lot to lose. So take that into consideration the next time you think about calling me a bitch."

With any interest of carrying on this conversation having left her, Yin rose from the table and made her way over into her bedroom, taking her bowl of sea prunes with her.

And I'll admit it. I actually felt pretty bad about myself for the rest of the night.

* * *

We began finishing the job around eleven the next day. We would've gotten started sooner, but I insisted that I be able to have some fucking peace and quiet before we got started. Something I could tell Yin was annoyed with me about.

A part of me considered apologizing to her about the things I said the night before. But I knew that if I did, she would get all snippy with me and throw some snarky bullshit back in my face, thus reminding me why I said those things in the first place.

It wasn't like there was a whole lot of tension anyway. This was just kind of the nature of our relationship at this point, if you could even call what we had a relationship. We didn't care for each other. We didn't hate each other either. We each had qualities that annoyed the other, and we simply tolerated them until we couldn't anymore. Our intolerance would range from passive-aggressive remarks to enraged outbursts, depending on the situation. And that feeling was the best way to sum up the atmosphere that enveloped us as we began our work for the day.

After I finished my breakfast, the two of us walked outside to Yin's car, which we had parked backwards, right in front of the grave. Once we popped open the trunk, the stench of the now three-day-old corpse hit us smack in the face like a wave aimed at a pro-bender. I sincerely hoped it would stay down in the hole so that I wouldn't have to stop myself from gagging the whole time we were out there.

"Alright, you got him?" Yin asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Let's hurry though. He's really heavy."

"Alright," Yin said. "One, two, three,"

Then we lifted Ryo; that's right, I remembered his name, out of the trunk and lugged him over towards the grave, his weight pressing down on me more and more by the second.

All I took were two steps back before I suddenly felt myself sink into the ground like I was in a fight with an earthbender. The time it took for me to fall and crash into the floor of the grave was no more than an instant, and in that miniscule amount of time, I'd found myself reeling six feet underground with what felt like a sprained ankle.

"Ah, fuck!" I shouted, clutching at my ankle in agony. "Fucking shit! Damn it, I'm so fucking stupid!"

Next thing I knew, Yin was already on her way down a set of ice stairs she must've bent. She immediately knelt down to inspect my ankle, which I didn't really understand. What did she need to know? That it hurt and I couldn't walk on it? No shit.

Then she got back on her feet and extended her arms towards me. "Here, I'm gonna lift you," she said.

"Can you even-" I started, unsure if she even had the strength to carry me.

"Yes," she replied. "Don't argue with me. Just let me carry you inside."

Realizing that it was best not to argue, I let myself be lifted off the ground. Then I let myself be carried up the stairs and into the house like a bride into a honeymoon suite.

Embarrassed as I was, though, by my helpless condition, I was more just surprised by how strong Yin was. She managed to get me all the way into the living room without even breaking a sweat.

Once we got inside, she delicately laid me down on the couch, then instantly left me alone in the room while she went back outside.

"Hey!" I called out, assuming she had gone back outside to finish with the hole. "May possibly have a broken ankle over here! I'd appreciate it if you'd actually help-"

"Song, I swear," Yin said, rushing back in with two plastic bags in her hand. "If you don't shut your mouth, I actually am gonna leave you in here until I've finished filling in the hole."

"Okay, I-" was all I could respond with.

"I'm serious," Yin said. "Not one fucking word. You got it?"

I nodded my head in understanding, choosing to ignore the irritation I felt towards her tone.

"Here," she said. "I'm gonna prop your foot up on the arm of the couch." Then she did exactly that, causing me a great deal of pain in the process as the shooting pains in my foot intensified. She then took the plastic bags she was carrying, and put one inside of the other, before bending a bit of ice out of the air and directing it into the inside bag.

Then she put the bag full of ice up against my ankle and began making her way into the kitchen. "I'm gonna get you a towel," she informed me.

Then, after a brief moment of silence, she came back with a tan washcloth that she proceeded to place over my foot.

"Hey," I said. "Am I allowed to say thank you?"

Yin simply nodded and said, "Yes."

"I'm sorry about what I said last night," I said. "I know you're not heartless. I could tell on the night that we killed those four people that you understood why it was wrong. I could tell you felt bad about it. You just… you have a way about you, Yin. Just this cold, icy exterior that makes people think th-"

"I said you were allowed to say thank you," Yin butted in. "Not to spend ten minutes telling me what you think of me."

Before I could lash out at her with a scalding, piping-hot rant that I was ever-so-eager to get out after being cut off by her yet again, she managed to calm me down once more with her following statement.

"But I'm thankful you did anyway," she added. "Now just stay here. I'm gonna go finish filling in the hole."

Then she walked back out the door, leaving me to once again contemplate the meaning behind her words, as I so often did. Normally I would've spent an hour analyzing it, running through every interpretation that went through my head, and seeing if it made any sense. But this time, it was actually very simple. She meant exactly what she said. Of course, there was zero emotion in her voice when she said it, so you couldn't really tell, but I knew it was sincere. She never would've said a thing like that if she didn't truly mean it.

But rather than try to convince myself that she was my new bff and that just maybe we could become friends, I just decided to savor the moment. Because I knew there would come many times in the future that she would piss me off again, both a little and a lot. There would be times where I wanted to scream at her until my voice gave out, or just straight up kick the shit out of her, and vice versa. So no matter what happened from that point on, I decided to let myself enjoy the fact that, in at least one instance, she showed some compassion towards me.

* * *

By nine o'candle the next morning, the two of us were finally out of that house. By ten o'candle, we were winding our way down the mountainside in Yin's car. Me in the passenger's seat with my foot up on the dashboard, and her sitting in the driver's seat. In the hour that had gone by since we'd left, Yin didn't utter a single sound. Big shock, right?

I actually didn't mind it for once though. Partially because the landscape was so gorgeous to look at, and partially because the thought had occurred to me that conversation with Yin would be torture anyway.

So I just opted to sit in reflective silence and ride that emotional wave until we got back to Republic City.

It was funny though. Because just as I had managed to finally appreciate the quiet, Yin had to come along and bludgeon it to death with a club made of words.

"How did you kill Khan?" she asked me point blank, with absolutely no build up whatsoever.

The suddenness and severity of Yin's words made them feel like a bolt of lightning. They were spontaneous, attention-grabbing, and only took half a second to completely shock you.

Without even the faintest idea of how to proceed, I just did the best I could by replying, "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said," Yin replied.

Still shocked and growing more offended by the second, I tried as best I could to carry on this conversation. "Qin told you what happened, right?" I queried.

"Yeah," Yin said. "He told us you killed him under the Silk Road Bridge. But how?"

"I don't think that's any of your business," I said.

"It's the whole damn triad's business," Yin said. "It's the reason we're in a war right now."

"Actually," I interjected. "We're in a war right now, because Slippery Suji couldn't keep his mouth shut at the peace summit."

"Regardless, I wanna know how you did it," said Yin. "You're a good fighter, but you're not good enough to beat Khan."

It was a challenge for me to answer her, because I didn't want to drag Gan's name into this. He had already been through enough after that whole ordeal. He didn't need his name getting spread throughout the Triple Threat Triad like a disease. So I decided to tell her a different version of the truth. "He didn't know I could bend two elements," I explained. "I caught him off guard with my firebending, while he was expecting me to earthbend at him."

That seemed to satisfy Yin. Mostly. She still had one more question for me. "And why did you do it?"

For some reason, that was the question that instantly made me flip my shit. Something clicked in my brain that filled me the fury of a typhoon and caused me to spew figurative fire at her like Sozin's Comet had come back.

"Why the fuck does it matter?!" I roared at her. "Why the fuck would you ask me something like that out of nowhere?! You know what happened! Everyone in the whole damn Republic City criminal underworld knows what happened! We were dating, and I didn't know who he was, so he made me a target! Fucking shit, Yin! What's the fucking matter with you?! Honestly, this is why you have the reputation that you do!"

"I'm aware of that all that," Yin said rather calmly. She wasn't even slightly fazed. "Tell me why you said no to him in the meeting. And don't give me anything about being too proud. I'll know it's a lie."

"You want an answer?!" I bellowed, completely unrestrained by what I was willing to disclose. "Fine! Then maybe somebody in this fucking triad will treat me with some respect! I did it because I wanted to make him hurt! I wanted to repay him for the way that he made me feel! I wanted to stand up in that room, look him straight in the face, and see his reaction when a woman of all people, a woman he thought he'd had in the palm of his hand the whole time, defied him in front of all of the leaders in the business he had so much power in! Now does that answer your fucking question?!"

Then I finally relented, allowing my breath to return and my face to lose its purple shade. And as I sat there watching Yin, awaiting her reaction, I actually saw the most mystifying thing I had ever laid eyes on. The most microscopic of grins take shape on her face.

"I'll be honest, Song," she said. "I was really unsure whether you had it in you to actually make it in this business. But now… it's clear you've got the stuff."

It was a test. That whole thing was just a test to gauge me. To see if I really had a backbone or not. She had probably been waiting the whole trip to do that. She probably planned it at the last moment so that we wouldn't have to talk anymore after that.

That clever bitch.

I just hoped I gave her the answers that she wanted. I didn't know anything about having 'the stuff' or not. I was still fairly new to this business and still had a lot to learn.

But I had already earned the approval of the coldest bitch in the Triple Threat Triad. So that had to count for something.


	17. Book Two - Chapter 7

Y'know something that always fascinated me? I mean, something that really piqued my interest? Why Hideki was always so intrigued by the stories I told him. They weren't interesting stories, like out of a book or something. I mean, they were just stories about me. About my life when I was younger and what I wanted to be when I grew up and all that kinda stuff. Stuff you wouldn't think anybody, let alone a teenage boy, would find particularly interesting. But every time I started talking about that kind of stuff, it was like he was totally oblivious to every other thing in the world, and the only sound he could hear was my voice telling him what my university major was.

I was currently sitting with him on the couch in my living room, wrapping up the story of my family members, and what each of them did for a living. How my father was a baker and my mother was a teacher and my brother was a lawyer who never shut up about how much money he made. And while I was reciting my own family history, I couldn't help but feel the urge to ask Hideki about his.

I mean, it wasn't something that bothered me or anything. Not knowing anything about Hideki's past. But it was a question that occupied my cranium every so often. Every time I thought about asking him, though, I just told myself that he would tell me when he was ready. I mean, we had gotten pretty close at this point, so it was only a matter of time before he disclosed it to me. Either way, despite the fact that a part of me did want to know, I knew it wasn't my place to ask. And I don't mean to sound like some gritty, gravelly-voiced drifter, but a person's past is their own business, and that was something I respected.

"So, wait a minute, I still can't believe this," Hideki started. "Your brother was the one who defended June Zaoping?"

"Yep," I replied.

"The June Zaoping?" Hideki repeated.

"Uh-huh," I said. "I'm surprised you've even heard of her."

"Well, yeah," Hideki replied. "Everyone in the city has heard of June Zaoping. Even the street urchins."

In case you were wondering, June Zaoping was the head of Zaoping Incorporated, and one of the wealthiest people in the city. Heck, probably in the world. Her company was a brokerage firm that ended up illegally making millions off of other people's money, putting her at the center of one of the biggest legal battles in Republic City history.

But somehow, in a practically unfathomable turn of events that he still won't explain to me how he pulled off, my brother managed to acquit her. Always attributed it to his 'natural-born talent'

"How did he manage to get her off the hook?" Hideki queried, echoing my very thoughts.

"Believe me, if I knew, I'd tell you," I answered. "I've been asking him since it happened."

"Well, shit," said Hideki. "That's one talented brother you've got there."

"Yeah, talented brother," I scoffed. "Talented at being a pompous jackass."

"Hey, come on," Hideki said. "You shouldn't be so hard on him. He's your brother."

"I'm not that hard on him," I responded. "It's just, I told you how he is."

"I know, I know, I get it," Hideki said. "It sounds like he's a handful."

The rapid popping of the candle on the coffee table in front of us notified me that the time for talking was over, and it was time to get on with the errands the day had in store.

"Well, thanks for listening," I said, before getting off the couch. "But I've gotta get going."

"Where to?" Hideki asked.

"Today is my friend, Gan's, birthday," I explained. "We're having a party at his place, and I've gotta go pick out a cake from the store, then bring it over to his house."

"Any chance I could tag along?" he inquired.

"You wanna come with me?" I asked, having been taken by surprise. It wasn't typical for Hideki to tag along with me to places where there might be social interaction. But that's because the only places like that I ever went to were triad-related or in Gan's nightclub, neither of which I could take him to, even if I wanted to.

"Yeah," said Hideki. "I've been living here for months and I still haven't met any of the people you know. Plus, I don't feel like just sitting around here all day doing nothing."

"Well, okay," I said, not really having a problem with the situation. "Go ahead and get your coat."

Hideki hopped off the couch and speedily made his way over to the coatrack next to the door, just as the very unanticipated sound of a knock rang throughout the house. Before I could even think of who could be at the door, Hideki had already swung it open and revealed it to me.

"Song," said Kyoko. She was as real and tangible as could possibly be, confirming that I wasn't having a nightmare about one of my triad associates standing right in front of Hideki. She instantly took notice of the orphaned teen, flashing him a look of puzzlement. "Who's your little friend here?" she asked. "Is this your kid?"

"Do I look old enough to have a sixteen-year-old kid to you?" I scoffed at her, not really sure how to feel about that question.

"Well, I don't know," Kyoko replied rather defensively. "Why else would you have a kid in your house?"

"He could be my brother, my cousin, my nephew-" I started.

"Are you gonna answer the question or not?" Kyoko snapped, clearly losing more and more of her patience by the second.

"He's a kid I took in from the street," I explained.

Meanwhile, Hideki was just awkwardly standing there in silence, his expression letting us both know just how uncomfortable he was with both our lines of questioning.

"Okay, um, well," Kyoko began, trying to tell me whatever she came here to tell me without letting Hideki know what she was talking about. "That thing we were supposed to do today. We still doing that or what? I've been waiting out in front of your building for ten damn minutes."

That thing she was referring to was whacking a group of Agni Kais at a card game down in Linuki. Exactly the kind of thing you wanted Hideki to have any idea I was involved in.

"No, didn't Qin tell you?" I replied. "He decided to give that to, uh, Ryu and his guys."

"Nobody tells me anything," Kyoko said, shaking her head in annoyance. "I've been with these guys longer than almost any person, and they still treat me like I'm..." Deciding not to finish the thought, she instead decided to get on with apologizing. "Well, anyway, sorry about the mix-up, Song," she said. "And I'm ever sorrier you're gonna have to put up with me for the rest of the day."

"Um, excuse me?" I said, my tone clearly letting her know I didn't take kindly to that idea.

"Look, you can blame Qin if you want to," Kyoko said. "But it already took me an hour just to get my wrinkly behind all the way uptown, and I'm not about to spend an hour riding all the way back, when I just got here! Nor am I gonna spend the rest of my day sitting around my house like some bum! Now, come on, where are we going?"

Desperately not wanting Kyoko to come with us, but sensing immediately that she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, I just stood there stammering. Looking for the proper words to say. "I-I, uh, I don't really think that's a-"

"Oh, come on, just let her come," Hideki interjected. "What's the big deal?"

Fucking traitor.

In an instant, Kyoko had already started to use Hideki's approval as a weapon against me. "Your friend seems to want me along. I think you better listen to him," she said.

Accepting defeat, I emitted the largest and most frustrated of groans from the depths of my throat, sinking my head down in frustration. "Fine," I conceded. "Come on. We're going to pick up a cake for my friend's birthday party."

"Ooh, a birthday party!" Kyoko said. "Sounds like fun."

* * *

One hour later and we were already at Gan's place, soaking in the merriment and good vibes that filled his luxurious apartment.

Well, everybody else was.

I had just been anxiously standing by myself almost the whole hour we'd been there, keeping an eye on Kyoko. I wasn't sure what exactly I thought she was gonna do. It was just as much in her best interest as it was in my own to not blurt out the fact that she was a mobster to everybody in the room.

Still, the whole situation itself unnerved me. It occurred to me every instant that we were there, how dangerously close the two worlds I inhabited were to colliding. How all it would take was just one slip of the tongue for my dirtiest secret to be revealed. It didn't matter how unlikely that scenario was. It still caused me quite a bit of discomfort.

And, boy, you should've seen everybody's faces once the three of us walked in. All of Gan's friends and relatives there who already knew me were a bit bewildered to say the least, when they saw me walk into the party with a sixteen-year-old kid and an eighty-one-year-old woman.

I hadn't had time yet to introduce either of them, but I had already worked up a cover story for Kyoko. Normally I would've just introduced her as a friend from work, but Gan had finally gotten over the trauma he'd endured at the hands of Khan, and I didn't wanna upset him by bringing a triad member to his birthday party. I was afraid those memories would come rushing back.

At the moment, I was leaning against Gan's piano, holding a glass of champagne, and talking to Hideki, who found himself leaning up against the piano as well. "So," I said. "What do ya think?"

"Yeah, it's a nice place," Hideki replied. "Really stylish. Very spacey. A lot bigger than any place I lived in growing up."

Ah. Now he himself was pushing the conversation towards where he was from. I'd spotted a fish. I just had to wait for him to take a bite.

"And where might that have been?" I queried.

I could clearly see he was hesitant at first, as he had been for so long now about this topic. But any hesitation I saw quickly broke down as he beamed a rather sincere smile my way. "I guess it's only fair that I tell you since you've told me so much about yourself," he said. "I'm from the North Pole."

This admittedly made my head shoot backwards as I was taken aback by Hideki's answer. Something I hope he didn't hold against me. "Holy shit, really?" I said. "That far?"

"Yeah," Hideki admitted. "I know. It wasn't easy getting here."

"Yeah, I'll bet it wasn't," I replied. "Why on Earth did you come all the way down here? There wasn't anywhere else between the North Pole and here that you could've stayed?"

"I always heard Republic City was the land of opportunity," Hideki said. "I figured I had a better shot here than anywhere else in the world. Obviously, I was wrong. Some beacon of hope this place turned out to be."

"Yeah," I concurred. "That beacon of hope shit is just a line. The truth is, at this point, the city couldn't be dirtier. And until we get somebody to clean it up, people are gonna continue to suffer day after day after day."

"You'd think the Avatar would be the one to do it," Hideki said. "Since this city was his vision and all."

"Yeah," I said, taking a swig of champagne. "You'd think."

Then the two of us suddenly found ourselves being approached by three familiar faces, Gan, Kyoko, and someone I hadn't seen since Gan's last birthday, his father, Bodo.

"Child, you have some real interesting friends, you know that?" Gan laughed. "This girl you brought with you is a hoot!"

"Kyoko?" I chuckled, trying as hard as I could not to seem nervous. "Oh, yeah, she's a hoot alright!"

"And this, I assume, is the famous Hideki I've heard so much about?" Gan said, placing a hand on my young companion's shoulder.

"Yep," I replied.

"Nice to meet you, young fella!" Gan stated. "Song's told me a whole lot about you."

"She has, really?" Hideki asked, seemingly flattered by his inclusion in me and Gan's conversations.

"Oh, yeah!" Gan said. "She goes on and on every time she's in my club about how much she loves having you around the house."

"Gan!" I said, playfully hitting him in the arm. I didn't like having the emotions I felt towards others being put out into the open without my consent. I didn't care what my relationship was with the person. I was also more than a little embarrassed that Kyoko was seeing this side of me, a side that would no doubt be revealed during the next gab session amongst Gun's crew.

"Well, thank you, Song," Hideki said, shyly. "It's good to know I'm not a nuisance or anything like that."

"Oh, come on," I said to Hideki. "You could never be a nuisance to me."

"Sounds to me like you've already got some maternal instincts, Song," Bodo spoke up. I always loved hearing him speak. He had a voice like hot cocoa, warm, relaxing, and sweet whenever you got a taste of it. That was honestly just him as a person overall. He was a rather portly fellow, with bright, silver hair running across the back of his head and down the sides of his face, connecting with a small beard at the bottom. He also had a face that was the ultimate embodiment of the kind, elderly grandpa and a smile that would melt your heart with how sweet it was.

"Oh, come on, I don't know about that," I replied.

"Nah, nah, I can see it," Bodo insisted. "Gan's mother had those same instincts. All it takes is having someone younger than you who depends on you to bring it out. And, clearly, having Hideki to watch over has brought them out in you."

"If you say so," I responded. I couldn't really think of much to say on the subject, because the very idea of having kids at all really freaked me out. It was something I knew I would be ready for down the line, but holy shit, I was only twenty-five. Having kids wasn't something I even wanted to think about yet, in any capacity. Plus, I knew Hideki must've been feeling more and more awkward by the second, so I thought it would be best to steer the conversation in a different direction.

Before I had the chance, however, Kyoko decided to do it for me.

"Where is Gan's mother?" she inquired.

Fuck. I already knew the answer to that question, and it wasn't very pleasant.

Bodo sighed, his expression having dimmed somewhat. "She passed away some time ago," he said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Kyoko said. "I had no idea."

"It's alright," said Bodo. "Talking about it used to bum me and Gan out, but nowadays neither of us feel all that bad when people ask us."

"Is it alright if I ask how she died?" Kyoko pressed further.

"She died during the Brightest Hour," Bodo replied. "Thirty-one years ago."

"Mmm," Kyoko replied, her own face losing some of its luster as well. "That was a terrible day."

For those of you who are unaware, the Brightest Hour was one of several Avatar-related, world-threatening crises that had rocked the city since it's genesis. This one in particular involved a crazy dictator who sent his army to destroy the entire city. Everyone in the city fought them off, while he himself fought Avatar Aang on some mountain somewhere. Believe it or not, there was even a lion turtle involved at some point. They called it the Brightest Hour, because the sun was at the brightest it had been in a thousand years or something. It was pretty devastating. A fuck ton of people died.

"Gan was only ten when it happened," said Bodo. "His mother stayed behind to fight, while he and I fled with the other people who chose to evacuate."

"I'm so sorry," Kyoko said.

"I always used to feel like a coward," Bodo admitted. "For running away while she chose to stay and fight. It made me feel like a bad husband. Like less of a man. But the truth is, she was a better fighter than me. And I wasn't there to see it, but I know she died like a hero. I know she didn't go out easy. And if she took ten, twenty, thirty of those fanatics with her before she died, then she ultimately helped make this city a better place."

"You made the right choice," Kyoko weighed in. "You could've given Gan here to your father or your mother or one of your siblings and they could've raised him themselves... but a child needs a parent to raise them. To guide them. To protect them. I lost my son during the Brightest Hour, because I wasn't able to protect him."

This revelation caught everyone by surprise, me more than anyone, as I had never even heard so much as a whisper about this before.

"Oh, my goodness," said Bodo. "I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine how that must've felt. If I'd lost Gan back then, I... I don't know what I would've done."

"My son was a bit older than yours was. He was twenty-eight. So, I've always been thankful that even though he died, I at least got to raise him into the smart, confident man he became. But it's still something that's stayed with me until this day."

"And how have you dealt with it?" Bodo asked.

"With time," Kyoko replied simply. "Time heals all scars. But that doesn't mean the scar isn't still visible. You can always see it. You never forget that it's there. It just doesn't hurt as much as it once did."

"To mama!" Gan said, raising a glass into the air. "And to Kyoko's son!"

"Here, here," we all replied solemnly, raising our own glasses.

* * *

Finally, after four hours of celebrating Gan's birthday, Hideki, Kyoko, and I found ourselves standing back outside my apartment building, just as the sun was beginning to set.

I was sure Kyoko wasn't happy about having just taken a bus twenty minutes uptown, only to have to take another bus an hour back out to Dragon Flats. But if she thought she was spending the night at my place, she was out of her damn mind.

"Hideki, take my key and go on upstairs," I said to my young companion, handing him the key to my apartment.

The sixteen-year-old took one last, wistful glance at the elderly gangster and smiled. It was obvious he had already grown attached to her. "Nice to meet you, Kyoko," he said, before turning away from us and walking into the building.

Then it was just me and Kyoko standing on the curb, all false pretenses having been eviscerated by Hideki's departure.

"So," I said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Likewise," Kyoko replied.

My natural instinct had been to turn around and leave myself, without wasting another thought on her or anything else work-related for the rest of the day. But there was something I had been wanting to press her further about. Something I think was already pretty obvious. "You never knew you had a son," I said.

"Yeah, well," Kyoko said. "There are a lot of things about me you don't know."

"Well, yeah," I said. "But that was something I figured I would've heard of by now."

"Song," said Kyoko. "Our business is filled to the brim with lowdown, dirty bastards and bitches who aren't afraid to dish on people's personal shit, no matter what it is. But there are some things that even the worst of us are afraid to bring up. The death of a child is one of 'em. It helps if they know you'll kick their asses if they do bring it up."

That managed to put a grin on my face. Kyoko's badassery was something I had admired about her from the start.

"I just pray that you never find yourself in that situation," Kyoko continued. "You've already shown with Hideki how great your maternal instincts are. Once you have a child of your own, and you develop that special bond with them... I know you'll be a great mother." "Thank you, Kyoko," I replied, having finally made up my mind that she was my favorite member of Gun's crew.

Just then, her bus pulled up to the curb, effectively bringing our affectionate, heart-to-heart moment to its ultimate end.

The elderly woman stepped aboard the bus the moment the doors opened, and took one ever-so-brief glance back in my direction. "Take care of yourself, Song," she said, as the doors closed behind her.

"You too," I said, not sure if she heard me before the doors closed.

Then the bus pulled away, taking Kyoko with it, and leaving me alone for the first time that day.

I finally made my way back towards my building, highly content with the way the day had unfolded, and thankful that even though my life wasn't in the best place at the moment, I still had wonderful friends and a lot to be happy about. It really pacified me. Feeling that way. It was something I didn't get to feel often anymore. It occurred to me that day that I should try to make sure that wasn't the case in the future.

It occurred to me that for the first time in a while, I'd had a good day.


	18. Book Two - Chapter 8

I'd been thinking a lot lately about some of the things I'd been told the day of Gan's birthday party. About how I apparently had great maternal instincts. Funny. That party had happened a month ago, and there I was still thinking about what had been said.

Every time I was with Hideki; every time we were laughing at each other's stories or I had to chastise him for doing something stupid, or I had to stop him from crossing the street before the signal turned green, I did think about what everyone had said to me at that party. And I had decided that my instincts weren't maternal. They would definitely do me some good if I ever actually had kids, but I had decided that they were sisterly instincts, not maternal ones.

In all honesty, that was how I had always seen Hideki, from the moment I'd first taken him in. As a little brother. And I could tell he reciprocated the feeling. He tried to hide it, as all kids do when it comes to their emotions, but I could always see through the cracks.

And being around him so much over the last five months had me thinking about a particular thing for the first time in my life. The fact that I had someone who depended on me. That if I was ever whacked by an Agni Kai or a Terra, or even just some petty crook, I would be leaving behind a person who had depended on me and would be devastated in that way and more by my departure from this world.

Sure, he could always stay with Gan. That's what I would arrange to have happen in the event of my untimely death. And it would provide Hideki with a place to live, which was the most important thing, but… he and I had established a bond. A bond that would be nearly impossible to replace, if it was ever broken. Gan certainly wouldn't be able to replace it. The thought of anybody having to replace it tore me apart. So, it was that bond that the two of us now shared, and would always share in all the years to come, that gave me three times as much of a reason to make sure I stayed alive whenever I was out in the streets.

Speaking of my work, that was exactly where I was headed at the moment. It was five o'candle in the afternoon, and I was dressed up in my burgundy pantsuit, standing next to the coatrack near the door, and putting on my jet-black trench coat. It was that time of year again, when Republic City was even colder than it usually was. The first day of winter was only three days ago, but it had felt like it was twenty below all month.

As I slipped the coat off the coatrack and draped it over myself, I heard the sound of Hideki emerging from the bathroom, stepping out into the living room to see me.

"Hey," he said. "You heading off to work?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"Do you have an idea of when you're gonna be back?" Hideki further inquired.

"It'll be late," I said. "Probably around eleven o'candle. How come?"

"Well, I was gonna wait until tonight to tell you this," Hideki said. "But… I got a job as a waiter in Gan's nightclub."

"Oh, wow!" I said, genuinely surprised by this turn of events. I had never expected Hideki to go out and get a job before he was eighteen, but it was very pleasing to me to see that he had. "That's so great, Hideki! Why were you gonna wait until tonight to tell me?"

"Well, I thought I would be back before you, since you usually get home a lot later, and I get my uniform tonight, so I was just gonna surprise you by wearing that," Hideki explained.

"Oh," I replied. "Well, that's really great, Hideki. I'm so proud of you for getting this job. Pretty soon, I may ask you to help start paying rent around here," I joked.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Hideki chuckled.

"Nah, I'm just kidding," I said. "I don't wanna make you feel like you owe me anything just for having a place to stay."

It was at that moment that Hideki adopted the sincerest of smiles. His eyes got all big and shiny and his eyebrows curved upwards. "Thanks, Song," he said. "You're a good person."

"Oh, come on," I said, waving my hand in dismissal.

"No, seriously," said Hideki. "Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. You've given me more than anyone else ever has. Even more than my own family. They never would've said anything like that. Or at least my dad wouldn't have."

"Well, don't mention it," I replied, basking in the warmth of the moment the two of us were sharing. "Now I've really gotta go. Good luck with your first day of work. I'll see you when I get home tonight."

"Alright," Hideki said. "Bye."

"Bye," I said as I stepped outside, exposing myself to the chilling Republic City winds that were already sweeping through the city like a blizzard, marking everything with their ice-cold touch.

A touch I would become very familiar with before the day had run its course.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, I found myself at Triple Threat Triad headquarters, sitting in Qin's rather crowded office, along with several of my associates. Gun, Zolt, Rampaging Ryu, and Qin himself were also occupying the space in the big man's office, all of us waiting for a certain Red Monsoon leader to show up so we could discuss some things with her.

I wasn't totally sure why I was even there. I wasn't a captain, and I certainly wasn't the boss, so why did they need me at all? Qin said it was because I was an important part in the war's creation, so it made sense for me to at least hear the discussion they would be having.

But that sounded like bullshit to me. How many of these meetings had they had over the last ten months that I had never been a part of? I was almost completely sure this had something to do with whatever secret bullshit everybody else knew about that apparently had something to do with me.

First, I overhear Qin and Zolt talking about some woman they're suspicious of, without even knowing what exactly they suspect the person of doing. Then, I ask Kodana to lunch, where she pretty much asks me for information on the Triple Threats and their activities, and then threatens me once I start to get suspicious. Then, Yin finds out about the lunch somehow, and instructs me not to tell Gun or anyone else about what was said during it. It was all very strange, and no matter how much I thought about it, I could never piece it all together.

Plus, there was that whole business with those guys that ambushed us on the street and nearly killed Zolt. The fact that they weren't Agni Kai soldiers, but hitmen that had been hired by the Agni Kais, was something that baffled all of us to this day.

One thing was for sure though. Something screwy was going on. Hopefully we were about to find out what.

Then, finally, after a half hour of waiting in complete silence, Kodana came strutting into the room, with her underboss, Lorako, her trio of captains, Iriki, Yuba, and Palika, and her consigliere, Akuga. For those of you unaware, a consigliere is basically the boss' top advisor. The guy who councils the boss on all their decisions and is always by their side during meetings and business dealings of any kind. It's a very sacred position, and the only reason we didn't have one is because I'm pretty sure he was in jail.

"Kodana," said Qin, from behind his desk. "Good to see you."

"Likewise, Qin," Kodana replied. It didn't take her more than a second to see that I was in the room for the first time, and I could tell for a brief moment that she had been caught off guard. "So, what did you want to discuss today?" Kodana asked, having a seat in one of the six chairs that Qin had lined up in front of his desk for our visitors, with each of her associates doing the same.

"I wanted to discuss the apparent lack of help the Red Monsoons have had to offer us in the last three months," Qin stated rather bluntly.

"Lack of help?" Kodana scoffed, glancing over at Lorako as if to confirm she also heard what Qin had just said. "What exactly are you saying, Qin? That my guys haven't been pulling their weight out there? That they haven't also been getting cut down by Tang and Yash's goons?"

"Over the last three months, your soldiers have more or less been ghosts," Qin replied. "I can't imagine what your reasons are for reducing their presence out on the streets, so I've asked you here to tell me. I assume your intentions are pure, but I would still like to hear it from you."

All Kodana did was simply nod, her face sporting an ever-so-revealing grin of annoyance. "Alright, Qin," she said. "You wanna know why they haven't been out there as much lately? Because we've been getting massacred. Not just our people, but our operations too. They've been shutting them down one by one. Busting up card games, torching warehouses, you name it. And I'm not willing to risk anymore right now."

"None of your operations have been hit in months!" Qin retorted. "The last reported hit to one of your businesses was in the spring!"

"But I have lost people more recently than that," Kodana fired back. "I don't have to tell you the numbers, because some of your guys were there too, weren't they?"

"Yes," Qin said. "I know the losses you've suffered have hit close to home. The same can be said for the losses we've suffered here. But that's why we need you out there with us. Both of our triads combined can beat them. If we don't stick together, they'll overpower us."

"I know," Kodana acknowledged. "And I promise, Qin, I'll give you as much support as I can once the time is right, but that time isn't gonna come until you make it. You're the one who can't seem to come up with a way to hit Tang and his inner circle. That's the reason we're still in this mess."

"Who says it's solely my responsibility?" Qin fired back. "And besides, the reason I haven't killed him is the same reason he hasn't killed you or me. Because killing a boss is about the hardest thing you can do."

"But it is doable," said Kodana. "And after ten months of this shit, one would think you'd have at least something figured out by now."

Rather than respond, Qin simply sat in silence, glaring at Kodana while his face beamed two different expressions at her simultaneously. One was an expression of anger at Kodana's constant bringing up of counterpoints, and the other was an albeit reluctant expression of admittance that those counterpoints were somewhat true. "You're right," Qin said. "You're absolutely right. I guess what we need to do then is sit down, put both of our heads together, and figure out a solution to wipe Tang and his pack of mutts off the face of the fucking Earth."

"That's the spirit," Kodana replied. "We'll have to do it soon too. They've really been turning up the heat lately. No pun intended." Then the Red Monsoon boss and all of her associates rose up out of their chairs, as if the meeting was actually over.

"The fuck do you mean, 'soon'?" Qin queried. "We're all here. Let's discuss it now."

"I've got other places to be, Qin," said Kodana. "I wasn't expecting to be here for more than half an hour. It'll take us all afternoon to talk this through. Besides, it looks like we've got one extra person in here today. I don't think it's a good idea to discuss something so sensitive in front of her. She might get drunk and tell one of the Agni Kais."

Like a phoenix reborn, I soared out of my chair and unleashed a scorching verbal fury on the Red Monsoon leader I once considered an ally. Consequences be damned. "Yeah, and then I'll singe your fucking face off like I did to Khan under the Silk Road Bridge!" I screeched, smoke practically filling my lungs as I barely resisted the urge to spew actual fire from my mouth.

Everyone else in the room reacted immediately, with the Red Monsoons becoming visibly more defensive, and the Triple Threats gesturing for me to sit down and take a breath. Everyone except Kodana, who still just stood there, smirking at me.

"Song!" Qin spoke up.

"It's alright, Qin," said Kodana. "I had a pretty good feeling it was her anyway. I'll make sure it doesn't leave this room. Just relax, Song, I'm only breaking your balls."

"Well, in case you didn't fucking notice, I don't have any to break!" I retorted. "So take your snide fucking comments and shove them up your ass!"

"Or what?" Kodana retaliated. "You think you can take me? I'm a whole different game from Khan, sweetheart."

"Hey!" Qin shouted. "That's enough! Nobody's gonna take anybody! We're all allies in this room! So both of you start fucking acting like it!"

The two of us took a brief pause in order to let the situation deescalate slightly, to the point where a confrontation wasn't inevitable. Then, Kodana had to open her big fucking mouth again. "You oughtta learn to keep your fucking mouth shut," she said.

"Oh, I need to learn how to keep my mouth shut, do I?!" I shot back, enraged by her hypocrisy.

"Yeah," said Kodana. "If you had just kept your mouth shut when talking to people higher up than you, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place."

"Look, I don't know what your problem is with me-" I started.

"I've got no problem with you, honey," Kodana interrupted. "I'm just tired of seeing you everywhere I go. Acting like you have any business being involved in matters this size. Anyway, I'll be on my way now. Until next time, Qin."

Then the queen of the bitches strutted out of the room like some kind of uptown socialite, taking all of her associates with her, none of them ever having said a word. No matter what happened from this point on, I would always consider her an enemy. She would be my ally only by the loosest possible definition, and I would only do business with her if I wasn't given a choice in the matter.

And I also swore that day, that if anybody ever mocked what happened between me and Khan from that moment on, what I said to Kodana would be the bare minimum of what they got. Every time somebody made fun of that situation, it felt like I was being stabbed through the heart with a machete. The sheer and utter pain I felt the night I found out who he was, and the night I killed him under that bridge was indescribable. It was a pain that none of these jerkoffs would ever come close to feeling in their entire miserable, pathetic lives, and here they were making fun of it like it was literally nothing. It was something I would never stand for again. Ever.

Once Kodana had cleared the vicinity, and Ryu walked over to shut the door, Qin and the others finally spoke plainly. "What do you guys think?" he asked.

"I think there's no argument," said Gun. "She's definitely turned on us."

"Yeah," said Ryu.

"Agreed," said Zolt.

"Great," said Qin. "So I'm not the only one who thinks so."

As usual, I hadn't been told what the fuck was going on, so, naturally, I was confused as all get out. "Turned on us?" I asked.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you," said Gun. "We just couldn't risk you giving it away."

"Giving what away?" I asked.

"For the last several months, I've been keeping tabs on Kodana," Gun explained. "We had a feeling that she had flipped on us, so I've been watching to see if she ever did anything suspicious. And, in addition to her not being out on the streets nearly as much as she used to be, I did notice some pretty suspicious behavior. So we asked her here today to test her, and I think it's pretty safe to say she's lying. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah," I said. "That actually makes a lot of sense. I actually never told you this, but a while ago, back when I had lunch with her, she-"

"She asked you for information about us," said Qin.

Having not expected him to have any knowledge about that whatsoever, I paused and looked over at him in puzzlement. "Yeah," I said. "How did you know that?"

"Because I had Yin follow you there," Gun said. "And I had her tell you not to tell anyone about it."

Everything was making sense now. The reason Kodana had been so hostile towards me all this time, the reason Yin knew about the contents of the lunch and the reason why she told me to keep quiet, the person Qin and Zolt had been suspicious of. It was all clicking for the first time. That also explained why we didn't recognize any of the people who tried to kill us in that hit a few months back. The one that nearly killed Zolt. The Agni Kais didn't hire them. It was the Red Monsoons. They did it so no one would suspect them, but so that none of the Agni Kais would potentially lose their lives.

Speaking of Zolt, I couldn't help but notice that from the minute the Red Monsoons left the room, he had been eyeing me rather suspiciously. As if I wouldn't notice. Normally, I would've spent at least a little amount of time trying to figure out why, but his dumb ass was the least important thing on my mind. Whatever he was thinking, I would end up figuring it out eventually, and would inevitably put an end to it.

"We didn't want to bring you in on this unless we were absolutely certain that she was up to something," Qin continued. "And now we are, so we can put our plan into motion."

"What plan?" I inquired.

"I'll explain on the way," said Gun. "But, basically, you and I are gonna have a busy night. We're gonna do a little investigating, and finally get to the bottom of what exactly she and the other triads are planning."

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself internally after hearing Gun say those words. It had just been so long since my last night-long escapade of horrors.

* * *

Gun had spent the entire car ride so far explaining to me what exactly we were gonna be doing that night, and what exactly he already knew. We would be driving around from place to place, asking people what they themselves knew about Kodana and her alleged connection to the Agni Kais. The first place we were gonna hit up was gonna be the docks, where we would be probing some crooked cop about any inside knowledge she had on the situation.

Once Gun finished, there was a brief silence that filled the car. One that I thought wouldn't be so brief, and would be allowed to carry for the rest of the ride to the docks, but, evidently, I was wrong. Gun made sure it died quickly. "You shouldn't have been so bold back there," he said. "You let your temper get the better of you like that too often, sooner or later it's gonna wind up getting you killed."

I have to say, I was genuinely surprised at his attitude towards what I did. Normally, I would've thought he'd have commended me for standing up for myself in a situation like that. And in addition to being surprised, I was also kind of annoyed with him.

"So, what are you saying?" I asked. "That I should've just sat there and taken that?"

"You had a right to let your anger be known," Gun replied. "But you're lucky she didn't kill you for threatening her life. You don't threaten a boss' life. Ever. Period, end of story."

"I could've taken her, Gun," I insisted.

"Oh, is that right?" Gun said. "And what makes you so sure?"

"I took care of Khan, didn't I?" I replied, rather smugly.

Gun sighed, probably frustrated, because he knew I was right. "That's not the point," he said. "The point is that, even if you can take someone, you shouldn't take risks like that so often. Otherwise, one of these days, you just might find yourself in a situation you can't get out of. When it comes to a risk that big, it's always better to just sit down and shut up."

"If you say so," I scoffed. "I took out one of the most feared crime bosses in Republic City. As far as I'm concerned, that means I can take out anyone I damn well-"

"You got lucky, Song!" Gun suddenly shouted, totally catching me off guard. "Everyone gets lucky! No one in this business is invincible, least of all you!"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, 'least of all me'?!" I asked, steaming at Gun's words. "Not only did I whack Khan, I kicked Zolt's ass twice without even trying!"

"And yet somehow both of them managed to get the jump on you at least once, didn't they?!" Gun retorted. "I've had to save your life twice now! From both of them! So don't you walk around with your cocky attitude, saying that you can take down anybody you want, when you've come this close to dying twice in less than a year!"

"You're not my fucking father, Gun!" I hollered back at him, having had more than enough of his horseshit. "Why the fuck do you care so much about what risks I take anyway?! You're the one who's always telling me what kind of business we're in! So, shouldn't I just be another dead soldier to you at the end of the day?! Or are you just some kind of a hypocrite?!"

In a practically unfathomable turn of events, Gun actually shut the fuck up and let me have the last word. I honestly couldn't believe it. Here he was, angrier than I'd ever seen him before, and this was the first time he let me have the last word.

And try as I might've, his reasons for doing so were something I just couldn't figure out.

* * *

The year was 123 AG. The scene was Republic City's rotten criminal underbelly. It was just as filthy and loathsome as it would be twenty-three years later, with many of the same players still active, as well as many who would be dead by then.

Things were different back then, as the Avatar had a more active role in disrupting organized crime before turning his attention elsewhere in his later years. The police force was also far less corrupt, as the senior Chief Beifong kept her officers on a much tighter leash and was, quite plainly, a far better police chief than her daughter would be by the time the year 146 rolled around.

But despite the greater efficiency with which the city's heroes dealt with organized crime, the criminals still found ways to flourish.

At the dusk of another typical Republic City evening, things were what they had been every day for as long as the forty-five-year-old Gun could remember. The largely-pure city was still in the gradual process of becoming infected by the triads that would rot the city to its core in later years. It hadn't spread that far yet, but it was happening undoubtedly. Gun saw it every day. He was at the forefront, making sure the rot spread to all corners of the city.

The main place he spent all his time was still the same as it would be in the future. The restaurant that served as the headquarters for his crew. Although his crew back then consisted of almost none of the same people. In fact, most of them couldn't even be found amongst the Triple Threats today.

There were only two that were still around twenty-three years later. One was Lu, whose hair was a faint brown instead of a snowy white, and was starting to noticeably show signs of aging, as opposed to the being the elderly man everyone would later know him as. The second was Qin, who was only twenty-four years of age. Younger than Song at the time of her abduction into the Triple Threats.

Both of them sat with Gun now, along with the other four men who made up his crew, outside their restaurant headquarters, smoking cigars as the sun set.

"It's an amazing thing, isn't it?" Gun said. "What we're accomplishing out here. To think we all managed to make this happen. When we all first got here, we were just a bunch of immigrants. Fresh off the boat in a land we had never known. And look at what we've accomplished. Nearly a third of this city belongs to us. And one day we'll own even more."

"You mean when you become the boss?" Lu said.

"Maybe," said Gun. "Maybe sooner."

"Boy, that'll be the day," said another of Gun's crew members. A man in his late forties with tidy, combed-back brown hair and a face that resembled that of a wolf, complete with an odd, round nose in the center. "You ever think about what your nickname will be?"

"Not for the last eight years, Cobra," Gun replied. "I stopped thinking about that kind of stuff once I got my head out of my ass and stopped daydreaming all day about being the boss."

"I think it'll be Geriatric Gun," said another crew member. "Because by the time you become the boss, you'll be so damn old, they'll have to put you in a nursing home." He was a rat-faced man in his late twenties who, despite his gangly facial features and rather large teeth, made an attempt to look suave by slicking his brown hair back with mousse.

"Hey, Wan, how about you shut the fuck up?" Gun chuckled, having been used to his colleague's smart mouth by now.

"He's got a point, Gun," said Slippery Suji, the man who would be largely responsible for inciting the war between the Triple Threats and the Agni Kais by insulting Big Bang Tang. "This is a young man's game after all. Well, a younger man's game. I mean, just look at Rikyo. That fucker's eighty-six years old and still in charge, even though he's getting dementia. You don't want that to be you, do you?"

"Alright, how 'bout this," Gun replied. "If I ever get dementia, I promise I'll step down before it gets too far. You have my word. Now can we please change the subject?"

"Well, I don't know about you fellas," said Lu. "But I'm in the mood for some cards. Any of you fuckers care to step inside and get your asses whipped by the oldest man here?"

"I'll take some of that action, old man," said the final of Gun's colleagues. A thin, rugged-looking man in his early twenties, with a bit of a scratchy voice, and wavy, jet black hair atop his head.

"I ain't old yet, Saku," Lu replied. "But even when I am, I'll still be able to whoop your ass. And not just at card games."

"Yeah, we'll just see about that," Saku chuckled.

"I want in too," said Suji.

"Same here," said Cobra.

"Eh, what the fuck?" Wan chimed in.

The five of them promptly entered the restaurant and made their way into the back room, leaving Gun and Qin outside by themselves.

"I don't know what the actual likelihood is," Qin spoke up. "But I think you've got a great shot at becoming boss one day."

"Dammit, Qin, I don't wanna talk about this anymore," Gun said.

"Sorry," said Qin. "I'm just saying. I know Fong is next in line, but you deserve it more than any of us."

"I appreciate it, Qin," said Gun, keeping his irritated tone.

"And y'know, some of us weren't immigrants," said Qin. "Some of us were born right here in Republic City. In the slums where we were never even given a chance. I spent my whole life growing up in Dragon Flats thinking that each day was gonna be my last one on Earth. But because of you, I never have to worry about that ever again. Because of you, the only ones who have to worry about it being their last day on Earth are any of the motherfuckers who cross me."

"If I say you're welcome, will you shut the fuck up already?" Gun chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Qin said. "I just wanted you to know that-"

"I know, kid," said Gun. "I know. And if I do become boss, then, who knows. Maybe you'll succeed me one day. I can't think of anyone better."

"Really?" said Qin. "You'd choose me over Cobra?"

"You kiddin'?" Gun smirked. "Cobra's older than I am!"

"Well, it'd be my pleasure," said Qin.

* * *

Three hours and a rather lengthy poker game later, and Gun found himself pulling his light green Satomobile into the driveway of his quiet, suburban home in Dragon Flats. A home he found himself becoming more and more distant from over the last few years.

As he got out of his car and approached the front door, it occurred to him just how little he'd been there this week alone. And once that started, all the memories he had about being absent over the years, and the emotions they caused him to feel, came rushing back to him at once.

And, most painfully, he remembered the root of the problem. The reason he and his wife had lost their connection and would likely never get it back. But rather than reflect on that in any capacity, he put it out of mind and opened the door to his home, getting a good luck at his wife, Riza, as he walked inside. "Hi, honey," he said.

"Hi," Riza replied quietly, seated on the couch.

"Is dinner ready yet?" Gun asked.

"Actually," said Riza. "I thought we could order out tonight. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, that works" Gun replied, lying in order to avoid an argument. He went over to his recliner on the other side of the living room and comfortably took a seat as he relieved himself of the stress the day had brought.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, something that was very common during nights in Gun's household. He didn't care in the slightest how awkward it was. In his opinion, it was better to say nothing than to say meaningless things, because they were both worried they had to. What he wasn't prepared for, however, was what Riza did say once she finally spoke up.

"Guess what I got today," said Riza.

"What?" asked Gun.

"A letter from Mei Ling, saying that she saw our daughter," Riza said.

This immediately caught Gun's interest, causing him to sit up in his chair and pay the utmost attention to what Riza had to say. "What?!" he asked again.

"Mmm-hmm," said Riza. "She said she was in Yu Dao just a few days ago. She tried to convince her to come back here, but she wouldn't listen."

"Well, did you really expect her to?" Gun asked.

"Well, after two years of living spirits-know-where, knowing that every day she's torturing us with the thought that we may never see her again, yes, the thought did cross my mind that she may have decided to come home!" Riza exclaimed. "That she may have gotten this whole rebellious thing out of her system and realized that we love her!"

It didn't take long. Mere minutes after Gun tried everything he could to put it out of mind, the root cause for his absence and the deterioration of his marriage had reared its ugly head. And now it was his responsibility as the more level-headed of the two of them to try and console his grief-stricken spouse.

"She'll come back," Gun assured her. "Who knows when. Maybe in another three years, when we finally decide to throw out the college fund we had saved for her. Maybe in another three decades, when we're in our seventies, still wishing we had just one more chance to see her. But it will happen. And, hopefully, when that day comes, we'll have learned something from all of this, and we'll know how to treat her from that day on."

"You and your words!" Riza snarled, shooting up out of her chair. "No matter what words you say, they're never gonna bring our daughter back to us! They're never gonna change the fact that our little girl is out there alone with no way to protect herself!"

"She doesn't need protection, Riza," Gun insisted. "That's for starters. And who's to say she's alone? Who's to say she doesn't have some kind of group she's travelling with?"

"Who's to say she does?" Riza spat back. "What do you think it's like out there for her? Huh? What do you think this is? The adventures of Team Avatar? Not every story goes that way! Not every story is a wonderous adventure where everything is always exciting! When people are out there in the world, with no place to go and no one to look after them, they don't get to go on adventures! They end up lying in a gutter begging for change!"

"If she's lying in a gutter begging for change, then we have only ourselves to blame!" Gun roared in retaliation as he rose to Riza's level. "It's our fault she's gone! We drove her away! But she's not begging for anything! You wanna know why?! Because she's tough! She's resilient! She's capable of making it on her own! We just couldn't see that before! And that's why she's gone! She's out there living the life she wants to live, and she's spiting us! And that's what we deserve. Now I've come to terms with that, and it's about damn time you did the same!"

All Riza did was nod as teardrops soared down her face, her hurt expression dominating her face. "Alright, Gun," she said. "Alright. The day she comes back, and we see whether she's running or crawling, then we'll know. We'll know just how right you were about everything you just said. And then, and only then, I'll come to terms with whatever I have to."

Then, Gun simply watched as Riza stormed off into their bedroom and slammed the door shut, leaving him alone.

* * *

Only a few minutes had passed since my argument with Gun, and neither of us were ready to speak to each other yet.

We were gonna have to work in tandem, though, once it came time to question this cop friend of Gun's we were about to talk to, and we couldn't give off the impression that we were angry with each other. It was important to show unity, because it made us look tougher.

After driving through the harbor, Gun pulled the Satomobile up to the dock we were meeting at, and put the car in park.

Before the words I knew were coming could even escape his lips, I decided to speak first. "Am I allowed to speak?" I asked.

"I've never known you to ask whether or not you could speak," Gun replied, opening the door to get out. "Why start now?"

Fuming, because I didn't have time to respond, I stepped out of the car myself and slammed the door, choosing to let that be my angered response instead.

The two of us walked over to the edge of the dock, where Gun's cop friend was waiting for us. She was a muscular woman with dark, shiny hair that she had fashioned into a bun, and rather thin eyebrows that she seemed to have plucked for some reason. Presumably because she thought it would appealing. She was dressed in an overcoat, due to the insufferably cold weather, and was holding a cigarette in her right hand.

"Hi, Sana," said Gun.

"Evening, Gun," Sana replied. "Who's your friend?" she added, gesturing to me.

"This is my associate, Song," Gun answered. "She'll be joining us tonight."

"Cool," said Sana.

"So," Gun said. "What information do you have for us?"

"Your friend, Kodana," said Sana. "She met with the Agni Kais."

Just one sentence in, and already we had confirmation that Kodana had turned on us. But we couldn't just stop there. We had to know as much as we could.

"When and where?" asked Gun.

"About six months ago," said Sana. "At a restaurant down on Chikyu Island. The Terras were there too."

"Do you know what they were talking about?" Gun asked.

"No," said Sana. "I've only heard rumors. But if she was meeting with the Agni Kais and the Terras on her turf, when she's supposed to be on your side… well, I don't think I have to tell you what that means."

"What's the name of this restaurant?" Gun queried.

"The Arctic Lounge," said Sana.

Yep. This place was on Chikyu Island alright. With a name like that, it had to be. Chikyu Island was inhabited mainly by waterbenders, if you were unaware.

"Alright," said Gun. "Then we're gonna pay this place a visit. Anything else you can tell us?"

Sana used the one hand she had free to briefly rub her chin before speaking again. "Yeah, yeah," she replied, somewhat nervously. "Now neither of you are gonna wanna hear this, but… I think you need to know."

"What? What is it?" Gun asked, his curiosity having apparently intensified.

"There's a rumor going around," Sana said. "That, um… one of your guys is working with them too."

This was the first thing Sana had said that had seriously caught my attention. Gun seemed much more worried than me, though, but that was because he interpreted those words differently than I had.

"You mean someone in the Triple Threats or someone in… my crew?" he inquired.

"Someone in your crew," said Sana.

Gun's eyes widened in genuine horror, as the possibility suggested began to root itself in his mind. "How can you know that?" he asked.

"I can't," said Sana. "It's only a rumor. You'd have to ask someone who might actually know. The guy who owns the restaurant they were at would probably be able to tell ya."

Gun nodded, knowing what we had to do next. "Thanks, Sana," he said. "Give my regards to your husband."

"Will do," said Sana. "Take care, Gun. And nice meeting you, Song."

"Likewise," I replied.

Then the two of us got back in the car and promptly pulled away from the dock and back into the harbor. It didn't take Gun long to start talking to me again, now that we knew what we knew. "Who do you think it could be?" he asked.

"I have no idea, Gun," I said. "I never pegged any of our guys as traitors. Even Yin, as unpredictable as she is."

"Neither did I," said Gun. "But I guess we'll know soon enough."

Yeah. Soon enough wasn't exactly the phrase I would've used to describe the amount of time it was gonna take us to get to Chikyu Island. With the distance itself, plus all the traffic we were gonna hit downtown, we'd be lucky if it took us anything less than three hours to get there.

Just perfect, considering I'd have to spend every single second of that time with Gun.

* * *

The day after Gun and Riza's fight was an ordinary one at first. Gun and his crew had spent the first half of their day carrying on as usual. The six of them occupied the back room that would serve the same function over two decades to come: a place where they could just play some pool and shoot the shit.

While everyone else carried about their business, Gun sat at his desk, his mind much less occupied by the events of the night prior than one would've thought. It was largely due to the fact that this job had become therapeutic for him in recent years. It was a place for him to escape any problems he was facing in his personal life. Something else to focus on. And it did a damn good job of it too. How could it not, as exciting as it all was?

"So, I was seeing this girl last night after we all left, right?" said Cobra.

"This is the nineteen-year-old you met at the tea place?" asked Wan.

"Nah, it's a new one," said Cobra. "This one is in her thirties, but she's got a body that looks ten years younger."

"Go on," said Suji.

"Anyway, so, we walk into her apartment, right? And as soon as we get up there, I start looking for a-"

"Looking for a what?" a voice interrupted him.

Everybody in the room turned their heads over to see the source of the voice, who was now standing in the room amongst them, having slipped in unnoticed. It was Ruthless Rikyo, the eighty-six-year-old boss of the Triple Threat Triad, not to mention the organization's first-ever boss.

The once proud crime lord, having truly earned his nickname throughout his time with the Triple Threats, was now a ghastly, shriveled old man with a cane, who, admittedly, still personified ruthlessness, even as dementia had overtaken him in his twilight years.

He was accompanied by Fish Lips Fong, his underboss and, as everyone liked to refer to him, his toady. He was a tall, dark-haired man, about half Rikyo's age, who got his nickname from his wide, puffy, and especially-bright pink lips that, oddly enough, didn't affect the way he spoke.

"Oh, hey, Rikyo," Cobra said. "I was just telling the guys about some broad I was with last night."

"You didn't answer my fucking question," Rikyo snarled. "What the fuck were you looking for?"

In the hot seat, but unafraid, Cobra was determined not to let the old man rattle him. "I… I was looking for a way to get out. Of her apartment, I mean. Because I'd remembered that my wife was coming back from-"

"From where?" Rikyo asked. "From the war?!"

"The war?" asked Qin.

"Yeah! The war!" said Rikyo. "The one we're in with the Fire Nation! Did your wife come back?!"

Having realized that Rikyo's dementia had gotten significantly worse than the last time anyone in the room had seen him, Cobra did his best to tread lightly as he spoke to him. "No," said Cobra. "No, she was never in the war. She was just coming back from her weekend getaway to the White Peak Spa."

"Well, that's good then," said Rikyo. "It's good she didn't have to fight in the war. It's an experience no one should have to go through. Certainly not a woman like her. She's a good one, that wife of yours. Which is more than I can say for this cocksucker here."

The old man motioned to Gun as he said those words, causing the Triple Threat captain to become visibly apprehensive. "What?" Gun simply asked.

"I know what you did, you motherless piece of shit," said Rikyo. "I know you snuck into my house and stole all the pictures I have of my wife."

Realizing the situation was possibly only moments away from becoming hostile, everyone in the room began exchanging nervous glances with one another.

"Rikyo, I didn't sneak into your house," Gun said. "How would I even do that?"

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to, you son of a bitch!" Rikyo spat. "I know your game! You think you can take my place?! You think I'm gonna let you and your pack of degenerates here run my town?! With my triad?!"

"Let's just take it easy," Gun said, standing up out of his chair, slowly. "I'm not trying to do anything, other than the job you gave me to do."

"Those pictures of my wife were the only piece of her I had left!" said Rikyo. "And you took them from me! If you think that's all its gonna take to get me to bend over for you, then you've got another thing coming, asshole!"

"I didn't take any pictures of your wife!" Gun insisted.

"Of course you did!" Rikyo sneered. "You worthless, little sack of dog shit. Maybe in return, I'll not only take all your pictures of your wife, I'll take her too! Stop over by your house and put a hole right though her head! How would you like that?!"

"You stay away from my wife, you demented, old fuck!" Gun roared.

"Hey, what the fuck did you just say?!" Fong stepped in.

"Forget him, Fong," said Rikyo, gesturing for him to stay back. "He's not worth your time. No one from outer space is. Believe me. I know their kind. I was just trying to let him know I mean business. That's all. Carry on with your day, boys."

Then the elderly crime boss removed himself from the room, slowly hobbling away with his cane, while Fong followed close behind him. By all outward appearances, it was as if the last two minutes hadn't happened, and neither of them were ever there. But the men who had witnessed the events that had just transpired knew just how real this situation was. And that something would almost certainly have to be done about their boss, before he did something they couldn't fix.

* * *

As Gun and I sat in traffic on our way to Chikyu Island, the sounds of car horns being forced into our ears, neither of us spoke a word to each other. Not because we were still mad at each other. I mean, couldn't speak for Gun, but I knew I wasn't mad at him anymore. It was just that we each had a lot on our minds.

Someone in the Triple Threats, possibly someone in our very own crew, was a traitor. And as much as I was sitting there, trying to figure out who it could possibly be, I knew Gun was thinking about it twice as hard. I had only known most of these guys for about half a year. Yin and Lu, I'd known since I started with the Triple Threats. Wow. I couldn't believe it had almost been a year already. But Gun had known these guys for spirits know how long. Decades probably. Once he found out who it was, if it was one of the guys in his crew, it would crush him.

When we set out on that assignment that night, we weren't expecting to find out we had a traitor amongst us, feeding our enemies inside information about us. But the scary part was… that probably wasn't even the worst thing we were gonna find out that night.


	19. Book Two - Chapter 9

The ride up to Chikyu Island had been a long and uneventful one. Unless you consider constantly listening to the insufferable sound of car horns for three hours eventful, which you actually might if you didn't grow up in a big city like I did.

The ride gave Gun and I time to ponder the information we had just been given prior to getting in the car. That one of our own had sold us out to the other three triads. And even after all that time, after all the thinking I had done on the subject, I still couldn't figure out who it could be.

There was the most seemingly obvious suspect of all: Yin. She was quiet, mysterious, and probably the most duplicitous person we had working for us. Most people trying to figure out the identity of the traitor would probably suspect her the most. But, despite her antisocial traits, and the apparent lack of information known about her, Gun seemed to trust her. Plus, if there was anything I'd learned about Yin after working with her for nearly a year, it's that whatever you may have thought about her, she always ended up defying your expectations. The way she was perceived was the way she wanted to be perceived. So there was always the possibility that someone different was underneath.

Then there was Lu, who, frankly, was the last person on Earth I would ever suspect of being a traitor of any kind. Never had I seen a person so loyal and dedicated to their work like he was. Not to mention, he had been in this business longer than any other person still in it. I couldn't imagine him having suddenly decided to go rogue. But it was possible he had been screwing the Triple Threats for years while using the loyal old man guise as a cover. It wasn't likely, but it was definitely not worth ruling out.

Next was Mong, who could've easily gone either way. He was definitely a gangster through and through. Both in the sense that he was loyal to his triad, and that he was a self-serving bastard who often acted solely in his own best interest. But those two arguments could also have been made for absolutely anybody. In each scenario, though, when weighing those two characteristics, you had to make a judgment call for yourself. To decide which of them represented that person more. With Mong, I honestly couldn't make the call.

There was also Chi Pa, who was, oddly enough, the toughest one in the bunch to get a handle on. On one hand, he seemed like a pretty standup guy. The kind of person who valued loyalty and didn't seem to have a problem with any of us. But he didn't seem overtly loyal. Nor did he seem overtly suspicious. However, if he was the one we were after, he might be the only one stupid enough to get caught. Well, okay, stupid was a bad choice of words. The guy was pretty knowledgeable, but he was a terrible liar, and that would obviously lead to being careless in a situation like this. I spent the least amount of time thinking about him, just because there wasn't much there to think about.

Finally, there was Kyoko, who was honestly kind of in the same boat as Lu. Like Lu, I just couldn't imagine someone who had been in the business as long as her suddenly deciding to switch allegiances. It was possible that she felt that she had been screwed by them more recently in an act of betrayal, which would then lead her to betray us. I did remember her saying something the day of Gan's party, about how even though she had been in the business for so long, they still didn't tell her anything. But the truth was, she was the wisest out of all of us. She had her head more firmly planted on her shoulders than nearly anyone else in our crew. Heck, in the whole triad for that matter. I would like to think that meant she knew better than to do something so disloyal and so obviously stupid, but a decision like that may not have seemed that way to her. In her mind, she might have finally come to her senses by decided to betray us.

Whoever it may have been. Whatever they may have done. By the end of the night, the last page of their story would have been written. That much I knew for sure.

At long last, after hours of driving, the two of us pulled up onto the curb of our destination: the restaurant known as the Arctic Lounge. It appeared to be closed, with some guy sweeping up being the only person inside.

Before the two of us got out of the car, I felt it was important to clear the air after my fight with Gun earlier that night. I didn't wanna spend the rest of the night in uncomfortable silence. "Gun," I started.

"I'm sorry too, Song," Gun said, finishing my sentence for me.

Both of us having decided that was all that needed to be said, I smiled at my mentor, and exited the car just as he did.

Then the two of us approached the restaurant, neither of us catching the attention of the guy inside. This changed, however, once Gun started pounding his fist against the locked door.

The guy inside looked up and saw Gun motion for him to unlock the door, prompting him to approach the door himself. "Hey," he said, nervously. "Can I help you guys?"

"You the owner of this joint?" Gun queried.

"Yeah," said the owner.

"What's your name?" Gun asked.

"Koli," said the owner.

"Well, we have a few questions for you, Koli," Gun said. "Let us inside so we can talk."

"Listen, I don't want any trouble," said Koli.

"Neither do we," Gun replied. "But if you don't open this door and let us talk to you, that's exactly what we're gonna have. So, come on. Open up the door, or we're gonna blast it off its hinges."

After hesitating for a brief moment, Koli finally gave in to Gun's demands, and opened the door, letting us inside. The two of us strolled in casually, taking a gander around the place before turning our line of sight towards the owner.

"Are you guys with the Triple Threats?" Koli asked.

"Now that's quite an assumption," said Gun. "What makes you think we're not with any of the other three triads in this city?"

Realizing he had already given himself away, Koli's eyes began darting every which way, trying to come up with an excuse as quickly as he could.

But Gun was quicker. He didn't let him think of one. "Koli, I'm gonna stop jerking you around here," he said. "I'm just gonna ask you. When the Agni Kais and the Red Monsoons and the Terras all came in here for dinner-"

"They didn't come in for dinner!" Koli insisted.

"Koli," Gun said. "Please don't interrupt me. When they all came in here for dinner, was one of our guys with them?"

"I…" Koli squeaked. "I… I can't say."

In a pretty predictable turn of events, Gun slammed his foot into Koli's kneecap, sending him toppling down to the floor instantly. He then lit a flame in the palm of his hand as the crippled restauranteur wailed in agony on the ground, clutching at his knee. "I'm gonna keep repeating the question," said Gun. "And if I don't hear an answer I like, my friend and I are gonna torch this place to the fucking ground!"

"No, please don't!" Koli cried. "This place is all I have!"

"Then answer my fucking question!" Gun hollered. "Was one of our guys in here?!"

"Yes, yes!" Koli revealed, confirming our worst fears.

"Who was it?" Gun inquired.

"I don't know," said Koli.

The flame in Gun's hand grew twice as large, emitting a crackling roar of intimidation.

"No, no, I swear, I don't know!" Koli yelled. "They told me to stay in the kitchen once your guy got here! They must've been afraid you'd come to ask me!"

After thinking about it for a moment, Gun turned around to face me. "What do you think?" he asked me.

"I believe him," I said, offering my opinion.

That was apparently enough for Gun, as he turned back around to ask Koli more questions.

"And I don't suppose you have any idea where we could find anyone who was here, do you?" Gun asked.

"I heard one of them mention some place called the Golden Dragon," said Koli. "He said he went in there every Wednesday."

The Golden Dragon. It was a strip club right in downtown Republic City. Figures that's where these jerkoffs would spend their time. And what a coincidence. It just so happened to be a Wednesday. "Which one of them was it?" I asked, offering some words of my own for once, instead of letting whoever I was with do all the talking.

"The balding guy," Koli said. "Saru. That was his name."

"Perfect," said Gun. "He'll be the easiest one to crack. 'Preciate the help, Koli. Make sure you get that leg fixed up, okay?"

Then the two of us left the establishment, leaving Koli writhing on the floor, as we embarked on the search for our next victim.

* * *

Just five days after the incident with Rikyo, Gun and his crew once again found themselves discussing their elderly boss.

They had all agreed after the previous incident, that it was an isolated incident, brought on by Rikyo not taking the proper medication he needed. But in three out of the five days since, he had continued to demonstrate dangerous behavior that would result in deadly consequences at some point in the future.

That was why Gun and each of his six crew members were gathered around in a circle in the back of their restaurant hideout. Contemplating taking the most serious of actions.

"I don't know what's left to discuss," said Cobra. "We need to take out this fucking prick as soon as we can before he kills somebody!"

"Or even worse, somebody's family," said Saku.

"We can't just kill him," Gun said. "He's an old man. He's demented. Sure, he's been unpredictable lately, not to mention pretty hostile, but he's not dangerous. Not yet anyway."

"Not yet?" asked Cobra. "All due respect, Gun, I don't think it's a very good idea to bet our lives and the lives of our families on 'not yet'."

"You say that like there's an inherent risk," said Gun. "He could go back to normal, or at least become more benign once he starts taking his medication."

"I agree with Gun," said Wan. "We're at DEFCON three, talking about jumping to DEFCON one. I think we need to calm down and talk rationally here."

"Maybe what we need is an agreement," said Qin. "An agreement that says if Rikyo becomes dangerous to the point where it's reasonable for us to fear for our lives, we take action."

"That sounds fair to me," said Lu.

"Me too," said Suji.

"I'm think that's rational," said Wan.

Then everyone looked over at Cobra and Saku, waiting for them to offer their input. "We need everybody to agree on this," Gun said. "This is the best plan we have so far. So you two can either accept it, or we can sit here for the rest of the night and keep discussing it."

After a lengthy moment of hesitation, Cobra nodded his head once in approval.

Saku followed suit a few moments later. "Alright," he said. "I'll agree to that. But if that old fuck ends up laying one hand my wife-"

"He won't," Gun said. "You have my word. I don't care what I have to do, I won't let any harm come to any of your families."

As if the universe itself had prevented him from walking in before they were finished, Fish Lips Fong entered the room, completely unaware that everyone else present had just been discussing murdering his boss. "Hey, Gun," he said. "Rikyo's got a job for you."

"Is that right?" Gun asked.

"Yeah," said Fong. "He's got some guy he wants you to whack down at the warehouse, and he told me he wanted you to do it. He said he feels bad about the way things have been between all of us lately. He's too proud to apologize, though, so I guess he figured having you and him do a hit together would be good enough."

Gun took a brief look back at his subordinates, as if to say, 'I told you so', then looked back to Fong. "Sounds great," he said.

Then everybody else watched as the two men not only left the room, but left the rest of them concerned and uncertain of what was to come in the near future.

* * *

Thankfully, the drive back to downtown wasn't nearly as long as the drive to Chikyu Island. Now that the traffic had subsided, it only took us an hour, which I know me and Gun were both thankful for. Even when we weren't mad at each other, Gun wasn't much of a chatterbox, so it was still a painfully quiet drive.

The two of us had finally reached The Golden Dragon, and the place was already giving me a bad vibe. I could practically smell the foul and overwhelming aroma of balls that would normally make me gag even in small doses, let alone a whole ocean of it. Plus, I wasn't particularly thrilled about taking a tour through the museum full of tits I was about to enter, but hey. It was all part of the job, I guess. Not often, but you had to figure at some point, this would be something you'd have to go through, what with these guys' lifestyle and whatnot.

Once we had the car parked on the curb on the other side of the street, we crossed over and made our way inside the strip joint.

Having hoped that the sights inside wouldn't be much to behold, I was severely disappointed when we walked in on two girls on a stage, grinding on each other. I tried as best I could to not pay attention to it, and instead look for Saru, but I couldn't help but notice that Gun never took his eyes off the stage. Typical.

I elbowed him in the arm, prompting him to turn his head towards me in annoyance while I simply stared ahead. "How about you try looking for Saru, you old pervert," I said.

"Oh, what? I'm not allowed to enjoy that?" Gun replied.

"I just think it's a little gross, that's all," I replied. "Besides, we're here to do a job, aren't we?"

"Oh, so, you're telling me that if it was two dudes up there grinding on each other, you wouldn't even glance at them?" said Gun. This was his own, unique way of teasing me.

"Look, maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't," I admitted. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that we find-"

"Found him," said Gun, pointing in the direction of our balding, Agni Kai adversary. He was sitting in a chair, receiving a lap dance from some redheaded stripper in a blue bikini. And judging by how into it they both were, we would have no problem reaching him without being spotted by him.

The two of us started walking over to him, and by the time we were halfway there, a question formed in my head that I wanted to ask Gun. "Hey, so, I've been doing this for about a year now, so, if it's okay with you, I'd like to do some talking from now on when we do this, instead of just staying silent."

"Talk all you want," Gun replied. "Just don't say anything stupid."

Then we finally reached him, and Gun had the opening line. "Hey, pal," he said, prompting Saru to immediately look up in fear.

Once he saw the two of us standing over him, with absolutely no one to protect him, his eyes grew to practically the same length as his face.

"Don't make this hard, Saru," Gun said. "For us or yourself."

"Hey, what the fuck is goin' on here?!" asked the stripper.

"Nothing, sweetheart," Gun replied. "We're just gonna take our friend here out back for a little fresh air, alright?"

"Here," I chimed in, reaching down into Saru's pocket and pulling out his wallet, tossing it to the stripper a second later. "Take this. I imagine there's way more in there than he owes you. Use it for something you need."

"Come on," Gun said, grabbing Saru by his shirt sleeve and yanking him up out of the chair. "Let's go."

"You motherfuckers won't get away with this!" said Saru, as we led him through the club towards the back exit. "I'm not gonna let you! I'll-"

"You'll what?!" Gun spat. "Shut the fuck up and keep moving."

Then we finally got to the back exit, slamming Saru through the door into the dingy back alleyway behind the club that clearly hadn't been touched in years. Before he could even think about retaliating, Gun shoved him up against the wall, pinning him to it as the two of us got up in our enemy's face.

"Alright, listen up, you cocksucker!" Gun snarled. "We're here because we know you and your friends met with the Red Monsoons a few months ago. We know that you've been working with them ever since, and we know that one of our guys is working with you too."

"Bullshit!" Saru groaned. "Where's your proof?"

"I have a source in the RCPD that can back up the claim, plus I talked to the owner of the restaurant and he confirmed it," Gun said. "Is that proof enough for ya?"

"Yeah, okay," Saru confessed. "We're working with the Red Monsoons. There's no point in me not telling you anyway. Kodana already knows you guys suspect her, after your little meeting today. It's only a matter of time before she reveals it."

"Both of them also confirmed that one of our people is giving you inside information," Gun said. "Who is it?"

"Go fuck yourself," Saru sneered.

With his free hand, Gun sent a devastating punch directly to Saru's gut, knocking every bit of wind he had in his lungs right out of him, and forcing a truly agonized moan from his throat. "You wanna answer that again?" Gun asked.

Then, Saru turned his gaze towards me, flashing me a toothy grin. Once the bastard got his wind back, he decided to speak to me. "Song," he said. "How've you been? I haven't seen you since the meeting, where you started this whole damn thing in the first place."

I was so fucking tired of people saying that, as if it was in any way true. I didn't understand what this obsession was everybody had with trying to blame me for all of this, but I wasn't gonna have it anymore. "Actually, if you will recall, it was Suji and Moku who started this. Not me."

"Right, right, of course," said Saru, the sarcasm never leaving his voice. "Y'know, another juicy little tidbit that Kodana told us," he added. "Apparently, you were the one who killed Khan."

I was determined not to let him see me rattled by that accusation. I made it a point to look as unbowed, unbent, and unbroken as I possibly could.

"Of course, me and Mao already knew that," he continued. "Since Khan told us what he was going to do. We both thought he was crazy, but we weren't gonna tell him no. We couldn't do anything to you in retaliation, since that would let Tang know we knew about it. But now that it's out in the open? You're gonna be in a world of-"

Before he could finish, Gun laid into him with another gut punch, this one seemingly more brutal than the last one. He definitely cracked a rib or two this time.

With his ribs shattered like a glass figurine, Gun let go of the Agni Kai captain, sending him crashing to the ground, now unable to fight back.

"You're not gonna do shit to her," Gun declared. "Now I'm gonna ask you one more time. And each time you bullshit me, or talk to her instead of me, unless she asks you a question, then something else of yours is gonna get broken. Which one of our guys is working with you?"

"I can't!" Saru wheezed. "I can't!"

Gun proceeded to stomp his foot down on Saru's wrist, breaking that too, as our enemy wailed once more into the night. "How about now?" Gun asked.

"Please!" Saru cried. "Please, just let me go!"

Next, Gun sent his foot crashing down into the back of Saru's knee, with the wail he released this time being the loudest and most gut-wrenching yet.

"Not so tough now, are ya?!" Gun said. "Tell me now before I break every fucking bone in your body!"

"They'll… kill… me!" Saru said, barely able to speak due to the pain he was in.

"You think I won't?!" Gun hollered. He raised his foot once more to inflict more damage, but was stopped once I grabbed hold of his arm, signaling him to stop.

I knelt down, turned Saru over on his backside, then stood back up. Then, with my full might, I slammed my foot right into his ball sack, forcing a sound out of his mouth I didn't think any human was capable of making. "Let me make something clear to you," I said. "You're not gonna do shit to me, and neither are any of your friends. Neither are any of the other people in this spirit-forsaken city. You know why? Because I'll kill every last one of you motherfuckers before I let you be the ones to kill me. I am going to make it my life's mission to see to it that when I die, I die any other way than getting killed by one of you greasy, loudmouthed, totally worthless scum of the fucking Earth. And because, unlike the majority of you triad fucks, I actually had to learn how to fight to survive. And that makes me stronger than you'll ever be. Now tell me who the fuck in our crew is working with you guys, or I swear to the spirits, I'm gonna cave your fucking head in!"

"It was Kyoko!" Saru shrieked, terrified beyond all measure. "It was Kyoko!"

More shocked than I anticipated I'd be after finding out who it was, I turned my head to Gun, expecting him to look just as surprised. What I saw instead was a look of pure amazement dominating his face. He was barely even thinking about the fact that one of his crew members, one of his closest friends, had just been revealed as a traitor to us all. The only thing he was focused on was the staggering display of brutality that his protégé had just demonstrated. For the first time, the person he had been mentoring to become a gangster since the day she arrived had finally shown what she was capable of, and even he never expected her to be capable of so much.

I personally didn't think about it that much. I meant every single word I said, and I didn't think I was in the wrong. As a matter of fact, I knew I wasn't. These weren't ordinary people. These were people who deserved to be talked to that way. To have the savagery inflicted on them that they inflicted on others. And I wasn't going to apologize for inflicting it.

"Well, there's our answer," I said.

"Yeah," said Gun. "Now come on. Let's get out of here."

The two of us went for the door, but before either of us left, Gun turned back to Saru for one final word. "Oh, wait," he said. "One more thing. This is for Suji and Moku." Gun then shot a fireball from his fist right into Saru's head, killing the suffering Agni Kai captain instantly.

After briefly watching the flickering, orange flames consume his head, the two of us exited the alleyway, and rushed through the club on our way out.

* * *

A few minutes later, Gun and I were driving through downtown, heading back to my apartment. And, after having been totally silent during that whole time, I finally decided to say something. "I can't believe Kyoko is the traitor," I said. "I just can't imagine her doing something like this. It doesn't make any sense."

"Song," said Gun. "I've known Kyoko for thirty years. When I first joined the Triple Threats, she was one of the first people who welcomed me. She's been one of my closest friends, and a member of my crew for over two decades, and is the last person I would ever suspect of selling us out to our enemies. You don't think it makes any sense? To me, it's a literal impossibility. But it's the truth. She's a traitor, and now we're gonna have to kill her."

The idea of having to watch Kyoko die, or spirits forbid, killing her myself, was something I absolutely dreaded.

At first.

She had more or less been my favorite of Gun's crew members since I joined. Her carefree spirit and constantly positive attitude had always made me admire her, and after talking with her at Gan's party, I felt we had a special bond. Plus, yeah, she was a traitor, but the woman had already gone through so much in her life, that this didn't really seem fair. So, yeah, I hated the idea of her having to die at first. But then it occurred to me that that was all just a front for who she really was. Her actions had shown that she was just as low-down and dirty as the scumbags she was working with, the ones who were our enemies. That every time we talked, even the time we had that heart-to-heart about her son, she was just playing me for a fool. And that she was a traitor, willing to send her own people down the river. I didn't care if we were in the scummiest business on Earth. There was still no excuse for selling out your friends. It was because of these reasons that I wouldn't feel remorse, but satisfaction. Not in her dying, but in her getting what she deserved.

"Well," I said. "I guess that's just the way it's gotta be."

"By the way, I'm proud of you, Song," Gun said.

"For what?" I asked. "For what I said to Saru?"

"Yeah," Gun said. "You lit up like a phoenix back there. That's the spirit I've been waiting to see from you this whole time. I just didn't think it'd all come out at once."

"Well, I was angry with him," I chuckled. "The bastard was threatening to kill me. So, yeah, I guess I got angrier than usual, but I'd like to think that's something that won't happen often in the future. Just in special circumstances like that."

"I guess we'll see," Gun said, cracking a grin.

"Yeah," I replied. "I guess we will."

But the truth was that we wouldn't. I knew that would only happen again under special circumstances. This notion Gun had about me being this ice queen deep down was bullshit. I knew that wasn't who I was, and it never would be. I knew it. I was definitely gonna get tougher, the more time I spent in this business, but ruthlessness was never something I would embrace. Ever.

Then, just when we thought the night was nearly over, we quite literally felt things heat up, as a fire blast struck the front right-side tire of Gun's car.

Caught totally off-guard, but acting on pure instinct, Gun managed to swerve the damaged Satomobile onto the curb, lightly striking a lamppost upon stopping.

Rattled, but unwounded, the two of us inspected our surroundings, seeing that Agni Kai soldiers were scattered all around us. They were smart to pick this area of town to ambush us. There was practically no traffic on the street.

"On my signal," Gun said. "You bend an earth wall up to cover us. Then we get out of the car and start firing. You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied.

"Alright," said Gun. "Ready… go!"

I raised my fists into the air and bent large earth walls on either side of the damaged car, protecting us from immediate destruction. Then, with the walls as our cover, we jumped out of the car and hid behind them, briefly leaning out and taking shots at our Agni Kai adversaries. I couldn't see what Gun was doing from his side, nor was I thinking about it, as I had my own problems to focus on.

I could see there were four Agni Kais on my side. Thankfully, that was a number I could take on easily. I peeked out from behind my earth wall and nailed one of them in the stomach with a stream of fire, knocking him briefly off his feet and onto the ground. One down.

Then, I went back for cover as they continued to shoot various forms of fire at me, seemingly not even trying that hard to kill me. I guess in their minds it wasn't even supposed to go down this way. They were supposed to pick us off from the car. Guess they forgot I could bend two elements.

My earth wall started to shake, the more they laid into it with their fire blasts, so I decided it was time for me to lose it. With a thrust of my arms, I sent the earth wall rocketing forward, then bent two earth spikes out of the front, impaling the two Agni Kais who thought they were just gonna blast through it once it got to them. Three down.

Then, the final Agni Kai cranked it up a notch, sending a fire pinwheel right in my direction. With minimal time to respond, I raised a fire wall this time instead of an earth one, thinking that would hold better. It did, as I was spared a fiery doom, but the force of the blast send me spiraling backwards until my back hit the car, eventually landing on my stomach.

Weakened from my backside striking the metal machine, I looked up to see the final Agni Kai running towards me. Still too disoriented to get up, I tried breathing a puff of fire, just to scare him from coming any closer, but it was of no use.

Then he finally got within a safe enough distance for him to land the final blow, without being in any danger himself. He opened his mouth and a scorching river of fire came pouring out, speeding directly towards me. A second after he unleashed his fire, I unleashed some from my own mouth. It was barely enough to counter, but it did the job well enough.

As the two of us remained there, locked in a battle of our flaming breath, I began to weaken little by little, while he seemingly never tired. His fire stream started to overpower mine, as he had launched his first, and I was rapidly losing energy by the second, and it started to dawn on me my number was about to be up.

His flame was just inches away from my face when, finally… I couldn't hold it any longer. I relented, allowing his weakened fire stream to hit me right in the face. It's important for me to note that it was weakened, because it was the only factor that spared my life. My face got burned to shit, but I still had my life.

All I heard after that was what sounded like a wildfire coming from behind me, and the Agni Kai in front of my screaming as Gun presumably incinerated him.

Then I felt myself being lifted up by Gun, having already defeated all of his Agni Kais, presumably. "Song!" he bellowed. "Song, say something! Say something! Come on, girl, tell me you're okay!"

I couldn't see it, and I may have been exhausted and on the verge of death, but I felt something drop onto me and I knew what it was. Little drops of liquid. There was only one thing that could've been. Tears.

Gun, the toughest, grouchiest, most deadpan and hard-hearted man I knew… was weeping. "Song!" he cried, desperately. "SONG!"

* * *

Just an hour after he had gone to collect him, Fong had brought Gun to a place he was familiar with. An old warehouse where a lot of business was usually done, typically of all kinds. In a weird way, this place was more of a central Triple Threats location than any other building in the world. An old, abandoned warehouse.

Also present in the room were Rikyo, his three captains, and, Gun assumed, the person who he was about to carry the hit out on. He couldn't see who it was, as they were trapped in a body bag, lying completely still. He scoffed internally at the idea of his future victim already being in a body bag before he murdered him, as it was obviously something Rikyo found poetic. To him, it was just stupid. Theatrics were something he always found pointless. He wouldn't even be able to use the damn thing once he'd incinerated it with his flames.

"Rikyo," he said. "I'm happy to hear you wanna put all this stuff that's been going on behind us. I know I do."

All Rikyo did was nod in response, which seemed odd to Gun, but he decided to brush it off.

"So, who's this in the bag?" Gun queried. "I assume this is the guy you want me to kill."

"Since when do you give a shit about who you gotta kill?" Fong asked.

"I mean, I don't," Gun replied. "I was just curious."

"Well, come on," said Fong. "Do it already. We've got somewhere to be after this."

"You do?" Gun asked.

"I said, 'we'," Fong said. "After this, I've got reservations at Yu Tin's. Our boss over here thought it would be good to invite all the crews out to dinner together to bond a little bit more. So, come on. You've gotta do this quick."

Gun turned back to face the person in the body bag, and lit a flame in his palm, prepared to end his life. Then, a terrible thought entered his mind. What if this was all some kind of setup? What if them hiding the person in the bag was just a way to conceal their identity from him? There could've been anyone in the world in that bag. An innocent civilian that had no business with them whatsoever. A police chief whose death they would blame on him. Or possibly… one of his crew members. They could've snatched one of them up after he left, then brought them here just in time for his arrival.

No. Gun thought. Clearly, he was just being paranoid. Sure, the situation seemed strange on the surface, but it had to have been an actual enemy of theirs in the bag.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Fong. "Do it already!"

"I just… I just think we should take him out of the bag," Gun suggested. "I think he deserves to have one last look at the world before he never sees it again."

"What are you, some kind of sap?" asked Fong. "Can you not kill someone without giving them a comfortable death?"

"You know I can," Gun replied.

"Then do it!" Fong said. "For fuck's sake, you want us to be here all night?!"

Gun turned back to face the person in the body bag, his mind frantically searching for a way to ascertain their identity. "Fong," he started, having found none. "Who's in the bag?"

"Oh, shit, boys," Fong laughed. "He thinks we're setting him up."

Still, Rikyo said nothing.

"Look, Fong, just tell me who's in the bag," Gun said, on the verge of begging.

"You know the rules, Gun," Fong said, practically taunting Gun. "You've gotta kill without remorse. Without caring who it is or what they've done."

"Look, please, just tell me who it is," Gun pleaded.

"I can't help you, Gun," said Fong.

"Just tell me who it is!" Gun pleaded further.

"Either you kill him or one of us will," said Fong.

"Who is it, Fong?!" Gun growled.

"You should already know that on your own, Gun," Fong sneered. "If you're smart enough, you should know why we brought you here and who's in that bag."

Having had enough of this psychological torture disguised as a simple test, Gun reignited the flame in the palm of his hand. If he took too much longer, then they would undoubtedly intervene, but if he carried this act out himself, then he would be to blame for this person's death. There was so much to consider, but absolutely no time to consider it in. He would have to make a split-second decision, with basically no thought put into it. In a moment he knew he would either forget or regret for the rest of his life, he acted, raising his hand into the air, and spewing forth a burst of flames, lighting the body bag ablaze.

He could barely contain himself in the moments that followed. He wanted more than anything to know the identity of the person whose life he had just ended. Or if it had just been a test, and they had a crash test dummy in there.

One of the captains put the flames out with a bit of waterbending, clearing away the flames and revealing the body to Gun. The fire had burned away the bag, and he could see the person clearly now.

Gun's heart sank not just from his chest, but to the deepest depths of the planet, and even further still. It would never stop sinking. Not until he was dead. For the rest of his life, he would have to remember this night, looking upon this face, seeing it charred and blackened like paper, and knowing that he was the one that ignited the flame.

It was the face of his daughter. 'Was' being the keyword. It was no longer her beautiful, shimmering face that would have melted nearly any icy heart that had encountered it. She herself was completely and totally unrecognizable now to anyone other than her parents, who would know her under any circumstances. Her once-pale body was now as black as the acts that had been committed by the other men in this room, with her pretty blonde hair being the only part of her that survived.

Too stunned to offer any kind of retaliation, Gun merely sank to the floor, tears pouring out of his eyes like they were storm clouds.

It was then, and only then, that Rikyo finally spoke. "Now you know not to fuck with me!" he hollered from across the room.

Just one simple utterance was all it took to make Gun snap. Quicker than a bolt of lightning, he shot up and expelled as much fire from his body as he was possibly capable of, blasting it aimlessly in all directions just as a warning.

Then, Fong and all three of the captains held him back, making sure he couldn't bend from anywhere other than his mouth, and holding an ice knife to his throat so that he wouldn't bend from there either.

Rikyo approached Gun slowly, a most wicked smile having taken hold of his face. "She showed up in town yesterday," he said. "She came by asking to see you. Said she wanted to talk to you and your wife. I drugged her and brought her here to teach you a lesson. And now you've learned one. Now, in your last moments on Earth, you finally understand that I'm better than you. That you can never beat me. And that I'll always be top dog around here. Kill him, boys."

Moments before Rikyo's subordinates ended Gun's life forever, Gun watched as his nemesis' head got blown off his shoulders by a massive wave of fire from the side.

Everybody turned to the side to see all of Gun's crew members had entered the warehouse, each of them fully prepared to kill.

"Light 'em up!" Cobra hollered.

He, Qin, Lu, Wan, Saku, and Suji all proceeded to bend their respective elements directly at Fong and the captains, knocking each of them off their feet and allowing Gun to be freed from their grip.

The instant Gun was free, he shot forward as much fire as he could summon, incinerating them all in a deafening blaze of vengeance.

Too weak and too broken to summon up any kind of words at all, Gun merely sank back down to the floor, despair dominating his heart, as it would for a very long time to come.

* * *

Two weeks later, and Gun once more found himself sitting in the back of his restaurant headquarters. The two preceding weeks had been the longest of his entire life, not to mention the most excruciating.

He was trying as hard as he could to move forward in his own way, which meant that he was internalizing how he felt instead of actually trying to deal with it. He split the guilt and the hurt and the devastation that he felt over what had happened into separate pieces, and scattered them across his soul. There were things that he was telling himself in order to stay sane, and he was finally at the point where he was ready to be around other people. And he did the one thing he always did in order to cope with his emotions. He buried himself in his work. Or at least, that was what he was going to do starting now. And ending whenever the hurt went away. If it ever did.

Sitting next to him now was Qin, who had been summoned for reasons unknown to him.

"Listen, Qin," said Gun. "I asked you here today to tell you that I want you to take my place."

The stunned Qin flashed Gun a look of utter shock upon hearing those words. "What?" he asked, unsure if he understood correctly.

"You heard what I said," Gun said. "I'm telling you that I want you to take my place. I know I was supposed to be the new boss, and I'm the one everyone supports, but…"

Gun trailed off before he was finished. Qin's heart began to ache as he saw tears stream down his mentor's face.

"I can't do it, Qin," Gun wept. "I don't have it in me anymore. I don't have the strength to be boss after this."

"Sure you do," Qin said.

"No, I don't," said Gun. "I can go on being a captain. I have to. For more reasons than I ever realized. But I can't be the boss."

"Why?" asked Qin.

"I can't explain it," Gun said. "But ever since it happened... any desire I had to be the boss has totally left me. The very idea makes me feel sick now. And if I'm not gonna do it… it has to be you."

"Why me?" Qin questioned.

"You knew this was coming," Gun said. "I told you I wanted you to succeed me."

"Yeah, but not this soon," said Qin. "I thought you meant way in the future, when you were old or dead."

"Yeah, I did," said Gun. "But now… I mean now."

"But why not Cobra?" Qin asked. "He's the obvious next choice."

"Because you're the best one for the job," Gun said. "Cobra's been acting boss for two weeks now, and he's already shown why he could never be boss. He hasn't done anything stupid yet, but let him act the way he's been acting for the past two weeks, and he'll bring us into a full-scale conflict with someone else."

"But, Gun, I'm twenty-four-years-old," said Qin.

"And you're still the most perfect guy for the job," said Gun. "You're strong, you're intelligent, and your heart is in exactly the right place. The border between good and bad. Right where you want it to be when you're in this business. Plus, who was making all those smart suggestions when we were deciding what to do about Rikyo? Who got everyone to listen to them?"

"Yeah, but," Qin started.

"But nothing," Gun interrupted. "You're gonna make mistakes at first. That much is for sure. But you're gonna learn from 'em. You're gonna grow from 'em. And by the time you've finally figured yourself out, you'll be one of the greatest bosses this city has ever seen."

"You really think so?" asked Qin.

"I know it," Gun replied, standing up from his seat. "Come here, kid," he added, opening his arms to embrace his protégé. Qin returned the gesture, and embraced his mentor in a hug.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Qin said.

"Me too, kid," Gun replied. "Me too."

* * *

The next thing I remembered after I lost consciousness was the faint hum of a car engine as everything slowly faded into view. Moment by moment, I re-entered reality until, finally, I was awake again. Not in the Spirit World, like I, by all rights, should have been, but sitting in a car next to Gun, as if the whole previous attack had never happened.

What was equally as strange was that my face didn't feel like it was on fire. I brought a hand up to my right cheek, and placed it there ever so slightly, evoking no strong feelings whatsoever. I was starting to wonder if me nearly dying really had just been a dream.

Gun put my doubts to rest once he saw I was awake. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine," I replied. "Way better than I should, considering my face practically got burned off."

"I took you over to Jinu's," Gun explained. "She fixed you up."

Jinu was our resident healer, and, supposedly, one of the best in the world. She was the one who patched up Zolt after his run in with the Agni Kais. As you probably already know, a waterbender's healing touch only does a person good if they're still alive. Unless they use Spirit Oasis water apparently. So, in most cases, she isn't able to save people who have gotten tagged, due to the time it takes to bring them in to see her. More often than not, they die on the ride there. And we were nearly halfway across town from her base of operations, which means Gun had to have moved faster than the speed of light in order to get me there in time. The old bastard saved my life again. And, not that I didn't already know this by now, but it had never been clearer than that night that he really, truly cared about me. And I was finally gonna ask him why.

"Gun," I said. "I don't mean to be out of line, but I think, at this point, I need to know. Why did you save me the night I got abducted? And why do you care so much about me at all?"

Gun glanced over at me without saying a word. I could tell he was a bit hesitant to respond, which was highly abnormal, considering he normally would've been extremely hesitant.

"Not that I'm not grateful, obviously," I added. "I just… feel like I need to know why you care so much about a random girl who, for the most part, has just given you a hard time ever since she got here. And why you said, on the night we did our first job together, that you didn't want to see someone like me die."

Gun nodded, the special circumstances we were in having softened him for once. He knew it was finally time to tell me. "It was twenty-three years ago," he started.

* * *

By the time we had gotten back to my apartment, Gun had told me everything. About Rikyo, his daughter, and how, at the end of it all, he ended up making Qin boss.

I was a little stunned to say the least. First of all, the fact that he had been tricked into killing his own daughter was the saddest thing I had ever heard. And the circumstances were absolutely insane. She could've come back to this city at absolutely any point in time, and it was highly likely that she wouldn't be back for years and years. But she just happened to come back during the brief period of time when this could've happened to her. And she had to go to Rikyo, and not directly to Gun's home. I couldn't even imagine having to go through something like that, nor did I want to.

And I was thankful that, if I ever had kids, they wouldn't have to be subjected to anything like that. Gun told me that those events lead to the establishment of the Rule of Forced Resignation, a rule within the organization that said if a boss ever got dementia, or some other kind of degenerative brain disease, they would be required to resign from their position.

But my main takeaway from that whole story was the piece of the jigsaw puzzle that had been missing the whole time. Why he had cared about me so much since we first met. Why a cold-hearted bastard like him even bothered saving me at all. It was because I reminded him of her. He told me as much. He said that, aside from our hair being different colors, we even looked similar. And now that he knew me, and I had become like a second daughter to him, he thought he could succeed with me where he failed with her, and protect me this time.

And, while I found the whole thing very touching, there was something I had to remind her of. Something that I was about to tell him now, as we sat across from each other in my living room. "Gun," I said. "I'm incredibly moved by your story, and by the fact that you think of me as a daughter… but I'm not her. I'll never be her. She sounded like a very independent woman, and I'm sure she was very capable of surviving in the real world, but one thing she may not have been was a fighter. I'm a fighter. And a damn good one at that. I'm capable of holding my own and making sure I don't bite it. Sure, I may have some close calls every now and then, but that's why I have you there to back me up. Or Yin, or Lu, or whoever else I'm with. And even if I'm by myself, you have to trust that I know how to take care of myself. You can help me and give me advice, but you have to stop smothering me."

"You're right," said Gun. "I should've realized that before tonight. I realized that back then, but after she died… I thought the reason was because I was wrong. That I shouldn't have let her have more freedom. That I should've shielded her from the world more than I already had. But I was right before. Because if I hadn't smothered her, she never would've run away… and I would've known where she was, and how to keep her safe once the situation escalated."

"Listen to me," I said, in a strange moment where it felt like he was the younger individual and I was the wise, older mentor. "I'm gonna tell you something I hope you already know by now after all these years. What happened to Mishi wasn't your fault. You hear me? It wasn't your fault. You can come up with as many reasons in your head as to why it was, but it wasn't. Until you accept that, you can never move forward with your life. And if you won't do it for anyone else… do it for me. Okay?"

All Gun did was simply nod in response before standing up. "I'll try," he said. "But you should know that old bastards like me… almost never change our ways."

"That's because they never try," I said, sporting an optimistic smile.

Rather than return the smile, Gun simply nodded again, and moved towards the door.

"So, when are we doing Kyoko?" I asked, changing the subject as I followed him.

"Tomorrow," Gun replied. "I'm gonna have Mong do it. You too maybe. She's a tough old bird. It may take two people."

"I'll be there if you need me," I assured him.

"You did a good job tonight," Gun said. "The way you intimidated Saru, the way you fought off all those Agni Kais. I know you never pictured yourself becoming a gangster, but at the rate you're going… you're gonna make a real fine one."

"Thanks," I said, somewhat uncomfortable at what that meant, but happy he gave me a compliment. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya," he said.

Then, Gun walked back outside and down the hall, as I shut the door behind him.

What a night this had been. I knew once Gun told me that we'd be spending the night looking for answers, that things would've gotten intense by the end of it all, but I don't know if I ever could've predicted any of this. And at the end of the night, the person who had found the most answers wasn't me. It was Gun. I knew it may have been a long shot, but I truly had hope that this would be the start of a big change for him, and that he would soon become a better man because of it.

What was craziest about that night, though, is when I turned around to see Hideki standing right in the middle of the living room, having heard everything that was said.

I was so speechless upon seeing my young friend that I literally couldn't muster the will to move or speak for a moment. He stood there looking at me, an expression of horror and disbelief having conquered his face. The two of us just stood still, silently gazing at each other in an attempt to convince ourselves that what was happening was, in fact, real.

Upon realizing it was, Hideki finally spoke up. "You… you're a gangster?!" he asked.

"What are you doing here?!" I questioned. "I thought you were working all night!"

"Gan told me I didn't have to work tonight," Hideki replied. "He said I start on Monday, and he was just giving me the uniform tonight."

I didn't have long to be furious at the truly unforeseeable circumstances, because Hideki wasn't going to allow it.

"I can't believe this," he whispered. "All this time… I thought you were this incredible person… but you're no better than any of the other people in this city! Or more specifically, all the other benders!"

"Hideki, just calm down and let me explain!" I pleaded.

"Why?!" Hideki shouted. "So you can just lie to me some more?! Or are you going to try to justify the reason you've killed numerous innocent people for profit?!"

"I never killed-!" I started.

"Spare me the lies!" Hideki screamed. "I thought I could start a new life here! I thought I'd met the nicest person in the world that I could start a new life with, but you're nothing but a common crook!"

"You can have a life here, Hideki!" I insisted. "I would never lie to you unless I absolutely had to! You're like a brother to me!"

"A brother?" Hideki asked, acting wounded as though I'd just impaled him with a spear. "A brother?! I liked you, Song! Not like a sister, but in a way I hoped you would too one day!"

Holy shit. This entire time, all the signals I had picked up that I thought were brotherly affection, were actually signs that he had a crush on me. I felt so stupid for not seeing it, but I had no time to look at it in hindsight now, because the next thing I knew, something truly unexpected had happened.

I felt myself sink down to the floor, against my will, and felt my arms move from my sides to behind my back. As my mind was frantically searching for a way to explain this unexplainable phenomenon, I watched Hideki walk over to me until he was finally standing right in front of me. "What are you doing to me?!" I asked.

"I haven't been completely honest with you either, Song," Hideki said. "I actually am a bender. A waterbender in fact. And it just so happens I'm a bloodbender too."

"You're a bloodbender?!" I cried, truly horrified at this point. "But it's not even a full moon outside! How can you-?"

"Because I come from the strongest line of bloodbenders in history," Hideki explained. "I came to this city with one goal and one goal only. To find a way to rid the world of benders once and for all. Eventually, I gave up. The way I was going to achieve that turned out to be flawed, and I was left here with no home and no money. Then, once I met you, I decided it was just a stupid dream, and that I was going to put it all behind me for good. I knew how I felt about you the moment I first laid eyes on you. And when you told me you didn't like my name, I came so close to changing it back, but I knew I could never do that. Because then someone might find out who I really was. But I feel like I can tell you that my name isn't Hideki… it's Noatak."

"Noatak?" I echoed.

"And now, I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to the people of this city," Noatak declared, raising his right hand into the air and placing it on my forehead.

In what would unquestionably be one of the most memorable moments of my entire life, I felt the energy in my body convulse and change around like I had a storm raging inside me, as Noatak worked whatever awful magic he was using on me.

In a matter of seconds, I had fallen to the floor, drained of nearly every last bit of energy I had. The only words I could muster at that point were, "What did you do to me?" To which, Noatak replied, "I took your bending away. Forever."

Yet again, before the horror of Noatak's words could fully dawn on me, he made sure to replace my current train of thought with another one of his own. He lifted me into the air, bringing the two of us face to face. "I have to leave now," he said. "I have much work to do. It will be a very long time before you see me again, but you can rest assured that I will be back. I will find a way to rid the world of bending forever, and once I do… I'm coming for the triads first. Goodbye, Song."

Then, my former friend tossed me aside, slamming me into the wall as he made his escape. I landed flat on my stomach just in time to see Noatak slam someone else against the door on his way out, incapacitating him for the moment as well.

That person, as it turned out, was none other than Zolt.

Despite the millions of other thoughts buzzing around in my head at the moment, I felt it was most prudent to pick myself up and go over to Zolt. So that's what I did. Once I got over to him, I could see he was shaken, but only a fraction as shaken as I was.

It didn't take long for him to open his mouth and start talking. "Who the fuck was that?!" he asked.

"Some kid I've had living with me for the past several months," I replied.

"Why do you have a kid living with you?" Zolt queried further.

"Is that really the most important question on your mind right now?!" I shot back.

Then I sat down next to my arch-nemesis, and both of us took a minute to catch our breath. Only a minute though. Not a second longer could be afforded to stay silent about what had just happened mere moments ago.

"So," Zolt said. "Was he… was… he a bloodbender?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"That's impossible," Zolt said. "The only bloodbender left alive was Yakone, and he's been gone for over fifteen years."

"Do the math, dipshit," I said. "That was his son."

"His son?" Zolt repeated. "Holy shit. What are the odds you'd end up taking him in?"

"Can you please?" I replied. "Not thinking about the odds right now is all I can do to keep my head from exploding. Why are you even here anyway?"

"I've been waiting here for you and Gun to get back all night," Zolt elaborated. "I wanted to make sure you weren't up to something."

"What exactly did you think we would be up to?" I asked.

"One of our guys is a traitor," Zolt said.

"Yeah, we know," I replied. "We found out who it was."

"Well, I thought it was you, so I just wanted to make sure you didn't ambush him here," said Zolt. "Qin told me Gun was bringing you back here from Jina's, so I got over here and waited until you showed up."

That made enough sense to me. "And how did you know there was a traitor anyway?" I asked. "Gun didn't even know."

"Qin didn't want to tell Gun until he was absolutely sure," Zolt explained. "Once he gave you guys your assignment tonight, he knew he'd find out on his own eventually. There. You up to speed now?"

"Yeah," I said. "Y'know, I have to say, I find it ironic that the last person I'm ever gonna talk to in this whole triad is you."

"What are you talking about?" asked Zolt.

"That kid took away my bending," I revealed. "So, I suspect Qin is gonna kill me soon rather than let me leave."

"What do you mean, he took your bending?" Zolt asked.

"I mean he took my bending," I said. "It's gone."

This seemed to surprise Zolt more than satisfy him, which, in turn, surprised me. "And you're not even gonna try to run?" he asked.

"No," I replied. "I can't risk him going after someone I care about. I'll take whatever punishment he gives me."

"Try bending right now," Zolt said, standing up on his feet. "Go on, try bending. I wanna see this with my own eyes."

I stood up as he instructed and briefly took a stance, facing out into the hallway. Then, in an attempt to earthbend, I shot my arm forward, but absolutely nothing happened. Seeing my fist swinging through the air and causing absolutely nothing to happen as a result was the moment that truly made me feel like a non-bender. It was a horrible, dreadful feeling that I would completely loathe having to get used to. I guess I wouldn't have to, though, since I'd be dead soon anyway.

Then, just for the heck of it, I attempted to firebend, just out of desperation. Much to my surprise, as soon as I threw my fist forward, a bright orange flame spewed forth and nearly incinerated Zolt, who had to step further to the side just to avoid it.

I couldn't believe it. I could still bend. I could still bend! I had literally never been more relieved in my entire life than I was in the moments after I firebended in that doorway. I thought my number was finally up, but it turned out I still had plenty of life left to live.

And even though the odds seemed against my favor in the most astronomical of ways before, now it seemed like the opposite was true. The odds of me never telling Hideki… I mean Noatak, that I couldn't bend two elements had to be some of the most insane odds conceivable. But that's what had happened. It was strange. I had told him so much about myself, but not that. It never truly occurred to me why until that moment. I guess it was because I didn't want him to see me as weird. As some kind of freak. Everybody else did. I guess I just cared about our relationship too much in order to let something like that ruin it. It was too late for that now, though, but at least I still had one element to bend.

"Looks like you can still bend to me," said Zolt.

"Yeah," I said confidently. "I guess he just took away my earthbending."

"Well, that's pretty good for you," Zolt said. "Because if he really had taken away your bending, I was about to get the biggest payback of all time on you."

"Yeah, well, he didn't," I replied. "So, why don't you get the fuck out of here?"

"With pleasure," Zolt retorted, promptly stepping out into the hall.

"Oh, and Zolt," I said. "Don't tell anyone about this. You and I have to keep this a secret, okay?"

"Why would I keep this a secret?" Zolt asked.

"Because if you don't, I'll tell everyone you got your ass kicked by a sixteen-year-old kid," I answered with a smirk. "Then you'll always be known as the guy who got beat by a woman and a kid."

Zolt shot me a glare of agitation, knowing I was right about how ruined his reputation would be, and continued walking down the hall. "Fine," he muttered. "Have it your way."

Having taken care of that, I closed the door to my apartment, giving me time to be alone with my thoughts and emotions. Neither of them were going to relent. Not even in the slightest. But I decided that for just that night, I was going to put it aside. I was going to crawl into bed, have a good night's sleep, and deal with all the bullshit in the morning.

Once I had to deal with it, though, and the ocean of emotions came rushing out to drown me… it was gonna be one of the hardest things I'd ever have to deal with.


	20. Book Two - Chapter 10

I had about a million thoughts racing through my head as I rode over to Kyoko's house.

As we rode along the plain, snow-covered streets of Dragon Flats, I found it increasingly difficult to relax, which I was gonna have to do before we got there. 'We' being me and Lu. If I seemed nervous or on edge about anything, there was a chance Kyoko would pick up on it and might become wise to our plan.

We were currently on our way to whack her, having found out the previous night that she was a traitor who had sold us out to the Red Monsoons.

That was only one among many shocking revelations that I had discovered that night. And, surprisingly, it wasn't even the most disturbing.

It was taking everything I had not to think about the most disturbing one and the profound effect it had had on my soul. No matter how hard I tried, no other thought could tear me away from the discovery that had lead to the most horrifying moment of my life.

Had Lu not been in the car with me, I probably would've begun weeping by now, but I had no intention of looking weak in front of him.

Apparently, though, he could still tell that something was wrong with me. "You okay, kid?" he asked.

I was way too distressed to get angry at him for calling me 'kid', so, for once, I chose a passive response instead. "I'm not a kid," I replied, quietly.

"My bad," said Lu, obviously not looking for a fight. "You okay, Song?"

"Yeah," I lied. "I'm just… I don't know. I've got a lot on my mind right now. Plus, I guess I'm just bummed about having to whack Kyoko."

"Yeah," Lu said. "I'm not looking forward to it either. She and I are the two oldest people in this triad. Two of the oldest in the whole business. I always thought she and I would make it all the way to the end. That we were it for the long haul… but I guess not."

"I just can't understand how a person who's been loyal for so many years could all of a sudden just turn like that," I said. "It just doesn't make sense."

"Tell me about it," said Lu. "I mean, I don't have to tell you how shocked the rest of them were. You saw how everybody reacted earlier."

"Yeah," I replied. "Lucky for her, Mong was busy today and couldn't do this himself. He seemed ready to fucking annihilate her."

"Yeah," Lu chuckled. "Mong doesn't take betrayal very well. Never has."

I paused for a moment, as I observed something about my comrade's demeanor that I decided to comment on. "You seem awfully calm about this," I said. "Despite the fact that you've known her for so long."

"Well, I know it sounds kinda like a cliché," Lu started. "But when you've been around for as long as I have, these kinds of things don't really affect you much anymore. You'll eventually get that way too, as you get older. Even if you have personal feelings about someone you've gotta kill, you'll learn to leave emotion out of it."

"Well, I don't know about that," I argued. "I don't think I'd ever let myself feel that way about killing someone."

"Oh, you have to," Lu insisted. "If you're gonna be any good at this, you have to. And year after year, decade after decade, I've seen it happen to so many newcomers. They all think they can't do it at first, but eventually, they learn. Hopefully, though, you'll never have to kill someone so close to you."

The way he kept talking about her kind of intrigued me. He made it sound like they had actually been good friends instead of just colleagues. Not that I had assumed otherwise. In fact, I had never assumed anything about any of my crewmates' relationships with anybody. I never really thought about any of them that much. But for some reason, this made me want to ask Lu about how meaningful his relationship with Kyoko had actually been. "So, you two were really close, huh?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah," Lu answered. "It's funny, because she's actually three years older than me, but I joined up with the Triple Threats first. I remember the day she first showed up. She was a young, hot piece of tail that everybody wanted. She still looked thirty even though she had just turned forty. Age hadn't caught up with her yet. But she made it clear real quick that if anybody tried anything, she'd break their arm."

"Forty?" I asked. "You were thirty-seven when you joined the Triple Threats?"

"Yep," Lu replied. "I was one of the original members. One of Rikyo's original guys. Shame what happened to him. What he turned into."

"Yeah," I said. "Real shame."

Lu shot me a confused glance, having not been aware that I had any knowledge of that story. "Did Gun tell you about that?"

"Yeah," I said. "Last night."

"Oh," said Lu. "Yeah. That's a tragic story. And I know that, after hearing that, it may be hard to believe that Rikyo actually wasn't that bad once upon a time, but it's true. Kyoko and I were two of his favorites. Oh, the parties he threw that we went to together. Some of the best times I've ever had."

"Parties?" I inquired.

"Yeah," Lu said. "Rikyo loved his parties, and Kyoko and I loved going to them. The music, the champagne, the… the… what's the word I'm looking for?" he trailed off. "Elegance!" he blurted out. "The elegance of the whole thing. It was all just the tops. Plus, it was a nice reminder that the two of us, just a couple of Earth Kingdom immigrants, had actually managed to make it over here in this new world."

"Wow. It sounds like you two were really close. And you knew each other for so long," I said, even more intrigued than I was before. "How come the two of you never hooked up?" I joked.

"Who says we didn't?" Lu remarked with a smirk.

Well, damn. I wasn't expecting to hear that. "Huh," I said. "That's nice to know."

I was so happy to be having this conversation with him, because I was finally getting to know him better after all this time. Ever since getting made, I had been slowly bonding more and more with each of my crewmates. Whether it was on assignments or during events we had to go to, or whenever. Lu had been the only one I hadn't really talked to much yet, which was ironic, considering I had met him before the others. But now we were finally bonding.

And the best part was, for just a few brief minutes, I wasn't thinking about what happened to me last night.

* * *

Once we were on Kyoko's front porch, it didn't take long for Lu and I to start freezing. As if it wasn't constantly cold enough, today it had to be snowing. Thankfully, though, by the time Kyoko opened the door, we hadn't turned into popsicles yet.

Lu. Song," she said. "What are you two doing here?"

"Gun sent us," Lu said. "We need to talk. May we come in?"

"Sure," said Kyoko. She motioned for us to come inside, which we promptly did, removing ourselves from the cold and taking pleasure in her house's toasty embrace.

"Do you guys want some tea?" Kyoko asked, as the three of us casually made our way into her living room. "I've got a pot brewing."

"None for me, thanks," Lu replied.

"Yeah, I'm good too," I added.

With no more small talk left to make, the three of us simply sat down and got right down to business. Kyoko sat on her rather simple, brown sofa, while Lu and I each sat in the armchairs that rested right across from it.

"So, what's this about?" Kyoko asked.

"Well," Lu started. "There's no easy way to say this, but… there's a rat in the triad."

Kyoko's expression changed instantly upon hearing this. She looked like less like she was angry, and more like she was hurt. Like the idea that someone had betrayed us was something she couldn't begin to understand. Bitch was a good actor. I'll give her that.

"Oh, my spirits," she said. "How much have they given the feds?"

"They're not talking to the feds," said Lu. "They're talking to the Kodana and Tang. Trying to help them win the war."

"Well, who is it?" asked Kyoko.

"It's Twitchy Toji," I lied.

Kyoko's expression of hurt finally shifted to one of anger. Clearly, she was committed to winning an award for her performance. "That motherfucker!" she spat. "You know, I never trusted him either! Or any of those fucks in Zolt's crew! Bunch of degenerates!"

"You're telling me," I chuckled, actually agreeing with her there.

"Well, how do you know it was Toji?" Kyoko asked. "Where's the proof?" She no doubt wanted to make sure we had sufficient enough evidence to go on believing it was really Toji, and that we would never suspect her.

"Gun and I went out last night in order to get answers," I explained. "It took a lot of work, but we finally got all the answers we were looking for from Sour Saru."

"And Saru told you it was Toji?" Kyoko asked.

"Yep," I replied. "Right before Gun killed him."

This seemed to be enough for Kyoko, as she didn't bother asking us any more questions. She also seemed oddly unfazed by the news that her newfound buddy Saru had been killed. She was good at being deceitful. That was for sure.

"We came over to tell you, because Gun wants all three of us to do the hit," said Lu.

Normally, that probably wouldn't have been very convincing. Three people going to whack one person. But Twitchy Toji was an animal, so I'm sure Kyoko's only question was why there weren't more of us doing the job.

"And I assume we're doing it now?" said Kyoko.

"You got it," Lu said.

"Alright," said Kyoko. "Let me just go out and put up a new birdfeeder. I've been meaning to do that all week."

The elderly gangster hoisted herself up from her seat and walked over to the sliding glass door that separated her from her snow-coated backyard. She opened the door, with me and Lu following close behind, and picked up a birdfeeder she had sitting on her back porch. "Hopefully it'll be a bit warmer tomorrow," she said. "I hate whenever it snows. It makes the sparrowkeets stay in their nests. I always makes me happy to see them whenever they come around." Kyoko then took the birdfeeder, and slowly trotted her way through the snow towards the big oak tree she had in her back yard, intending to place it there.

"I'm sure they'll be back in no time," I said.

Then CRACK! An earth spike shot up from beneath the snow, impaling Kyoko where she stood, and causing her to drop the birdfeeder.

In a matter of seconds, the clean, white snow was littered with drops of crimson red. It looked like an artist had spilled a few blots of ink all over their canvas. Then Lu retracted the earth spike, allowing Kyoko to collapse to the ground, dead. Once she hit the ground, her crimson red blood poured out all over the snow, covering the canvas fully now, instead of just staining it slightly.

"Well, that's that," Lu said. "I'll go ahead and start cleaning up. You call Qin and tell him it's done."

"You got it," I said.

I hoped that the clean up wouldn't take long. I assumed it wouldn't, because Lu was the best cleaner out there. But, still, it could've been that the time it took to do each job varied, and I didn't know how long it took to get blood out of snow. Or if you could even do that. And now that I was finished here, there was something I finally had to deal with.

* * *

It had been just a few hours after I had left Kyoko's place. And for the second time that day, I found myself stepping off the bus in front of an orphanage. The first one I had been to wasn't the right one. I wasn't sure if this was either, but I hoped it would be.

I walked into that dreary-looking place afraid and unsure of what I would discover. And I hoped that by the time I walked out, whatever I had learned would ultimately help me find peace with the whole Hideki situation.

What happened between us last night was probably the most horrifying thing that I had ever been put through in my entire life. Even more terrifying than when I killed Khan.

Both situations were eerily similar. I began a meaningful relationship with both of them, allowing myself to care about them deeply in one way or another, only to discover that they weren't really who they said they were and have them physically threaten me in some way. Amazing that that had happened twice to me in the same year, right? But the reason I had decided that what happened with Hideki was worse than what happened with Khan was because by the time me and Khan were facing each other under that bridge, I hated him more than I had ever hated anyone else before. I wanted to hurt him. Badly. And the only reason I held back at first was because I was against the idea of taking someone's life. Especially since that's what he wanted me to do.

With Hideki… damn it. That's not his fucking name. With Noatak, it was worse, because he wasn't evil. There was no malicious intent. The reason he reacted the way he did is because he thought I was the evil one. Maybe he was right. Maybe I deserved to lose him. Maybe I deserved to lose my earthbending forever. Maybe I deserved to have to look him in the eye – someone who I felt was the little brother I never knew I wanted – and see how utterly disgusted he was with me.

I'm sorry. If it's all the same to you, I don't wanna talk about this anymore.

I walked into the orphanage, and was immediately a bit saddened by the condition the place was in. It wasn't, like, abhorrent or anything, but you could tell this place had been built the first year Republic City was founded. It was old and dingy and not really a place I thought children should be raised in. And you could tell that the people who managed this place had repeatedly been asking for money to renovate it, but the owners had been too cheap to give them any.

I walked over to the front desk, catching the attention of the woman who was sitting there. She looked like a woman in her forties dressing up as a woman in her seventies for a costume party or something. She had gray hair, glasses, a modest, tan blouse, but she had the features of someone much younger. Rather than try to guess her actual age, I listened to her as she greeted me.

"Hello," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi," I said. "I'm here to speak to the caretaker."

"That would be me," she said. "I'm Zee. Head caretaker here."

"Okay," I said. "I was just wondering if you could tell me if someone I know stayed here at any point."

"And who might that be?" Zee asked.

"A kid named Hideki," I said. "Tan skin, black hai-"

"You don't have to describe him to me," Zee said, sounding as if the mere uttering of the name had traumatized her. "I remember Hideki. How do you know him?"

"He and I knew each other for a while," I explained. "I found him out in the streets, and I tried to help him out by taking him in. It didn't work out. I was hoping you could tell me more about him."

"Only that I've been hearing one of my former kids scream his name over and over again for the past year," said Zee.

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

Zee let out a rather exasperated sigh before continuing. It was as if she had already told this story countless times in the past and didn't expect, or want, to have to tell it again. But she was about to anyway. "Hideki came to us around fifteen months ago," she started. "He wouldn't tell us where he was from or what happened to his parents, and I didn't ask. I didn't care. Like all the others, I just wanted to help him. From the start, I could tell there was something off about him. He wasn't disturbed or anything like that, but he was just so… angry. He had so much anger inside him, and he took it out on all the other kids. There was one child we had here. His name was Yong. He was always so mean to Hideki. He would torment him every chance he got. It was because his parents, before they died, taught him that if you were a bender, you were better than everybody who wasn't one. And I knew… I just knew that I could make him understand why that was wrong. If I just had enough time, I could make him a better person. But then… something happened. I still don't know what exactly. I only know what Yong has been saying over and over again since it happened a year ago."

"What's that?" I asked.

"He claims," said Zee. "That Hideki somehow removed his bending. He claims that he did it as an act of revenge for all the torment he had caused him. We had him examined by doctors and physicians and everyone we could afford, and every time they tried to get him to bend again, he couldn't do it. They said it was psychosomatic. It had to be, right? There was no way Hideki could have actually taken away his bending. Eventually, they had him committed. He wouldn't stop going on about how Hideki had taken his bending and that somebody had to do something about it. He said Hideki told him that he was the first person he had ever done this to. The first of many, actually. That he had some kind of master plan." Zee's eyes were stinging with tears at this point. The glasses she had on made them look extra-large.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "I really am. I don't want to make you talk about this anymore, but I need to know as much as I can. Did Hideki ever say anything about benders? How much he hated them?" Zee's story reminded me of something my former young companion said during our heated exchange. Something derogatory about benders. I had to know what exactly he meant by it.

"He mentioned it to you," Zee said. "Figures. He talked about it every time I saw him. Again, he would never tell me why, but for some reason, he just hated benders so much. I assumed it was because of people like Yong always pushing him around."

That was all I needed. I didn't want to put her through anymore. "Thank you," I said. "You've been a really big help to me."

Before I could even take two steps, she spoke up again. "Wait," she said. "What is this for? Why did you need to know this?"

"I can't tell you that," I said. "But just know that you really have been a tremendous help to me, and I hope both you and Yong find a way to get past this."

Then, without another word, I walked out of that building exactly how I hoped I would. At peace with the whole situation.

The feelings I had before I walked in weren't completely gone yet, but they were slowly draining away. And with each passing moment, I could feel myself feeling less and less awful. The reason being it was clear to me now that what happened with Noatak wasn't my fault. That there was nothing that I could've done differently, and that I wasn't a bad person. It was clear to me that this apparent hatred that Noatak had for benders was the reason for what happened, and that I had nothing to do with it.

A reasonable person wouldn't have reacted the way that he did. A reasonable person, one who actually cared about you, would've taken the time to hear you out. They would've known, based on your character, based on their relationship with you, who you really were and that you weren't capable of doing anything too horrific. Noatak didn't even take a second to consider any of that.

And I'm sure it didn't help that he apparently had a crush on me. It probably broke the kid's heart that the woman he had the hots for was exactly like the people he despised. I just couldn't believe that I never picked up on it during all those months I had him living there. I was so used to picking up signals from dudes, too. I guess I just never expected to have to pick up signals like that from teenagers.

But it was clear to me now that, despite my best intentions, there was just nothing I could've done to make our situation work. What happened was always going to happen, because there was no way I could've hidden it forever, and there was no way I could've made him understand. There was no way anyone could make him understand. I just hoped that, one day, he would realize on his own why his prejudices were wrong, and start looking at things differently. Because a person with that much hatred and a power that strong could potentially be very dangerous. And I didn't want to see him end up a monster.

But, yeah, with all that being said, I'd say I was pretty content with the whole situation. Besides… there was nothing I could do about it now, even if I wanted to.

* * *

Just a half hour later, and things were back to business as usual. All of us who were in Gun's crew were now in the back of our hideout, huddled together around Gun. The difference between today and every day before this, though, was that we were short one member, and everybody in the room could feel it.

"So, I've got some bad news," Gun said, having just sat us all down. "They took out Shang and Tsang last night."

Shang and Tsang were a pair of twins who were a part of Rampaging Ryu's crew. They were actually two pretty funny dudes. Lot of fun to be around, so I guess it was kind of a shame.

"This whole situation is way outta control at this point," said Mong. "It's three against one! They're just gonna keep picking us off until we're all gone!"

"And there's definitely no chance of a sit down happening?" Chi Pa said.

"You know there's isn't," said Gun. "They won't have a sit down with us, because they know they don't have to. Their goal is clearly to get rid of our whole organization so they can take everything we have, and now they have everything they need. If we ask for a sit down, that'll ultimately show them that they're so close to winning, that we're practically begging them to stop."

"So, what do we do?" I asked. "There has to be a solution."

"There may be one," said Gun. "Kodana and Tang are the ones who want us gone. Kodana wants our turf, and Tang just holds a personal grudge against us. If we can somehow get rid of those two, whoever succeeds them might be more open to resolving the conflict."

"What about Yash?" asked Lu.

"Yash is only in this because he's trying to stay loyal to Tang," said Gun. "If we whack Tang and Kodana, I'm sure he'll be the first one to suggest a sit down."

"Well, it sounds good on paper," said Mong. "But everybody in this room knows how hard it is to whack a boss. It's next to impossible!"

"But it can be done. We just have to think of something," said Gun. "In the meantime, arrangements are being made for Shang and Tsang's funeral. It's in two days, and, of course, we're all going."

I know what you're thinking. Isn't it dangerous to get all of us out in the open when there are three entire triads trying to kill you? But the feds always had a big presence at funerals, so there was no chance of anybody trying anything.

The next two days, though, were another story. I had a target on my back along with everybody else, and I would have nothing to protect me other than my own two fists and the fire that I could spew from them. And the last time I saw Kodana, I threatened to singe her face off.

Oh, yeah. These next few days were gonna be fun.

* * *

So, miraculously enough, I managed not to get killed in the two days between our meeting and the funeral.

As a matter of fact, I was on my way to the funeral right now, sitting in the back of a limo with Gun, Qin, and Ryu. I found it a bit weird that I was riding with all the big shots, but by now, I should've been used to the fact that Gun always wanted me by his side.

And although I managed not to get killed during the two days in between, I did, however, cause one of the guys in my building to drop all his groceries once I realized how closely he was following me. Nearly barbequed the guy too. I felt so bad about it, I ended up going out and buying him new groceries.

It was funny, because my first instinct was to threaten him with my earthbending rather than my firebending, but I still hadn't gotten used to the fact that it was gone.

So, basically, what I spent those two days doing in my spare time was helping myself get used to the fact that I wasn't an earthbender anymore. That I could bend only one element now, just like everybody else. Well, except the Avatar of course. And, honestly, it was gonna take some more getting used to, but I was already starting to get the hang of it.

That wasn't the weirdest part of it, though. You'd think that it would be, but it wasn't. The weirdest part was analyzing my own reaction to it. To losing my earthbending. It was incredibly bizarre, sure, but I'm not sure I really cared that much.

Being able to bend two elements was never really something I hated, despite all of the shit I got from people because of it. It had honestly become a huge part of me. It was part of my identity as a fighter, and one of the things that made me a fighter in the first place. And yet I didn't even really seem to care that much that it was gone. I mean, it was kind of annoying to have to learn to fight just using firebending, but other than that, I wasn't upset at all. And, besides, I always preferred fire anyway. I've always been told that it matches my personality more.

As the lot of us rode through the back streets of downtown Republic City on our way to Shang and Tsang's funeral, the back of the limo we were in was rather quiet. We were all dressed in black, looking sharp as ever, and it seemed all of us were a tad on edge. I guess it was just all the death we had been experiencing among our own ranks lately.

"After today, we need to get serious about what we're gonna do about Kodana and Tang," said Qin. "I won't have any more members of our family wind up dead."

"We'll think of something," said Gun. "It's only a matter of time."

"I tell ya," said Ryu, with his scratchy, gravelly voice. "I get my hands on those Agni Kai cocksuckers, I'm gonna cut their fucking hearts out and feed 'em to 'em. Shang and Tsang were like brothers to me."

"You'll get your chance," said Qin. "We'll all have a chance for revenge.

"I'm sure Song over here probably wants to do Kodana herself," said Ryu, with a smirk. "What with that fiery little display she gave us last time we saw her." That was the first time Ryu had ever addressed me.

"I certainly wouldn't mind it," I replied. "I'd like to at least rough her up a bit first."

This got a chuckle out of everybody else in the limo.

"And she could do it too," said Gun. "You should've seen her the other night. She scared Saru so bad, I thought he was gonna shit himself." He was beaming with pride at the fact that I was apparently more ruthless because of him.

"Well, of course," said Qin. "If she's got the guts to kill Khan, then a mousy little piece of shit like Saru should be no problem." This got yet another laugh from everybody else, and managed to elicit a slight grin from me. "I gotta be honest, Song," said Qin. "I wasn't sure hiring you was the best idea when you first started out. But I think I'm really starting to warm up to you now."

"Is that right?" I replied, in a tone I had never taken with Qin up until that point.

"Yeah," said Qin. "You've got spunk, girl. Moxy. I like it. Not to mention, you've done more for me than I ever imagined you would. Keep it up."

Then, not three seconds after he'd said that, the limo came to an abrupt halt, puzzling every one of us inside.

Qin tapped on the glass divider between us and the driver, causing the driver to lower it. "What's going on?" he asked. "Why have we stopped?"

"There are some people standing in the middle of the-" was all the driver could say before an ice spike came crashing through the windshield, impaling him through the throat. At that point, it was very clear what was going down. We were in the middle of an ambush.

Like a battalion of soldiers hiding in the trees, dozens of people all dressed in jackets and fedoras emerged from the alleyways up and down the street, surrounding our procession of limousines.

"What do we do?" asked Gun.

"What else?" said Qin. "We get out and fight."

"Are you sure we can take 'em?" I asked. "There are a lot more of them there are of us."

"We don't really have a choice," Qin replied.

And he was right. Our adversaries were already approaching each of the cars. We had to leap into action now if we were actually planning to fight.

Everybody in the limo paused, waiting for the signal to attack. And in those few brief moments, I won't lie, I was kinda terrified. I had been fighting all my life. I had been in scraps. I had been in brawls. I had danced with death and stared it right in the face. And I should have, by all rights, been dead already, after my run-in the other night with the Agni Kais, who nearly burned my face off. But this was probably the most scared I had ever been going into a fight. Because it wasn't a fight. It was a battle. And when it comes to battles, the kind you fight in wars like this, your chances of surviving are pretty damn low. And, for the first time in my life, my odds of being victorious weren't based on my abilities as a fighter. But, rather, on pure luck. And, yeah, that terrified me a considerable amount. But I remembered what I said to Saru just a few nights ago. I would never let any of these motherfuckers be the ones to kill me. Never.

Suddenly, I didn't have any more time to think about it. Once those few moments had passed, Qin had given us the signal… but it wasn't at all what I expected.

"Stay here," he said, opening the door facing the street and stepping outside alone. "Everybody stay in your cars!" he ordered. "You motherfuckers have two options!" he said, addressing the enemy soldiers. "Leave and have a chance at staying alive… or stay here and die. Which one's it gonna be?"

The Agni Kai and Red Monsoon soldiers all responded by taking attack stances, their decisions having already been made.

"We ain't afraid of you!" shouted Mao, one of Khan's former right-hand men, and the Agni Kais' new underboss, standing front and center before all of his companions.

"Alright then," Qin smirked.

"Aw, shit," Gun remarked to me. "They've done it now."

"They sure have," said Ryu.

Like a caged beast unleashed, Qin immediately lashed out at his adversaries. With just one swing of his fist, he rose a collection of earth columns up from the ground, propelling about eight or so soldiers backwards, and slamming them into the various buildings standing behind them.

While the remaining dozens of soldiers started firing back at him, he instinctively raised a massive earth wall to protect himself. Then, he banged his fists into the ground, sending tremors through the Earth, and opening a sinkhole in the middle of the street, which, in turn, swallowed up several more soldiers.

While the remaining soldiers' blasts started to break through the mighty earth wall he had raised, Qin began pounding away at it, sending small chunks of earth flying in all directions, and knocking even more soldiers off their feet. He repeated this technique until the earth wall was finally gone, the barrier between him and the others finally gone.

He could see now how many soldiers he had taken out. In no more than a minute, he had decimated a third of their little army. It was some of the most impressive earthbending I had ever seen. And, frankly, I found it kinda hot. That raw display of power.

Qin cracked a smile, feeling more emboldened upon seeing how many of his enemies had fallen, and continued his onslaught. He dodged an enormous stream of fire, launched at him by an amalgamation of terrified Agni Kais, and firing back in return with a large boulder, knocking two of them out.

Then, he just barely managed to avoid being stuck by a flurry of ice spikes, by raising an earth wall just in time. He then pushed it forward, nearly taking them down as well, but the fuckers actually managed to jump out of the way.

Every time one of the soldiers was about to fire at him, he beat them to it. He was just too quick for them.

Next, he raised both of his hands upwards and raised a ring of earth spikes up from the ground, impaling every unfortunate soul who happened to be standing where he raised them.

It was clear at this point that, despite how well he was doing, his luck at not getting hit, despite how outnumbered he was, could only last so long.

A group of five Red Monsoons all joined together to launch a gigantic wave at him, catapulting him back into the limo, and briefly knocking the wind out of his lungs.

After just a second out of commission, he regained his footing, so to speak, by smashing his foot against the ground, bringing about a tremor that disoriented his enemies, giving them the same disadvantage.

Just seconds after he got back on his feet, though, he was already being assaulted with an inferno, with several Agni Kais sending one as a gift in his direction. With no time to retaliate, he simply leaned backwards, the blaze just barely missing him, but forcing him down onto his back.

The Red Monsoons didn't waste the opportunity, and made sure he couldn't get up again, nailing him in his kneecaps with ice spikes.

This caused the Triple Threat boss to let out an agonized cry, as he was now permanently grounded for the rest of the fight.

Mao and one of the shooters of the spikes, the Red Monsoon captain named Iriki, began walking towards him, with their subordinates following suit.

"You're done now, motherfucker!" Iriki said.

"Guys!" Qin called out. "Now would be a good time to help me out!"

There was the order we had all been waiting for from the start. Like phoenixes reborn, every single one of us instantly came shooting our of our cars, inspired by Qin's display of power, and opened fire on the enemy soldiers.

There were between twenty to thirty of us in total, nearly equaling the number of our foes, so we were pretty much on even ground at this point.

Lu, Twitchy Toji, and one of Ryu's crew members all made a wall around Qin, guarding him at all costs, while the rest of us got mobile, fighting whoever we encountered.

Several fireballs came blazing my way, just narrowly missing my head, and prompting me to fire back in return. I sent my attackers a fire pinwheel in return, which knocked them over like a bunch of bowling pins.

Then I barely reacted in time to a Red Monsoon charging me, ducking to avoid her water whip, and cracking her across the face with a fire whip in retaliation.

I decided to keep my fire whip, using it to take down a pair of soldiers who were targeting Yin, just a short distance away. I shot Yin a grin, which she, of course, did not return.

Then, I got right back into the fracas, lashing my fire whip at whoever I could, taking down about three people from behind, until some big Agni Kai fucker decided he was gonna take me on.

He hurled a fire bomb at me, which, miraculously, managed not to kill me, due to someone raising an earth wall to cushion the impact. I looked to my right to see my savior was none other than Grimy Gao. A member of Zolt's crew had actually saved my life. Truly, we were all united out here on this battlefield.

Gao also assisted me in killing the big motherfucker, by earthbending at the same time I firebent at him, delivering a walloping double takedown on the poor son of a bitch.

All around me, people were dropping dead, mostly Agni Kais and Red Monsoons, as our guys stepped up and took them on like nothing you had ever seen. Seeing Qin stand up for all of us really seemed to inspire everyone, and that was what drove us through that battle. I was too engaged in my own fights to pay too much attention, but I caught glimpses of everybody stepping up to win the fight.

I saw Mong and Chi Pa fighting back to back, covering each other while they wasted as many enemies as they could. I saw Zolt's crew members, Pong and Chi Fu, cutting through a whole bunch as well. I saw all of Ryu's guys holding their own. Even Shady Shin was holding his own, and he was just some kid rookie that had only joined a few months ago.

Then, in an act of perfect symmetry, Gun, Yin, Zolt, and I all backed into the same spot at the same moment, inadvertently making up a four-person team. The four of us shot down as many soldiers as we could, taking out around ten or so all on our own.

Then, before we all knew it, the battle was over.

The only one left alive was Mao, who was squirming across the ground on his stomach like a worm.

Gun walked over to him and loomed over the underboss, who surely knew he was about to meet his end. "Hey," Gun said. "I just killed your buddy, Saru, a couple nights ago. It only seems right for me to kill you too."

"Fuck you!" Mao spat. "And fuck you for killing Khan!" he shouted at me. "Loudmouthed bit-" Was all he got out before Gun lit up his face with a fireball, effectively killing him.

Once the last of our adversaries was dead, everybody hurried over to Qin, who was still lying in the street.

"We need to get him to Jinu," said Lu. "She can heal him."

"I'll take him," said Zolt. "We'll meet up with you guys at the funeral once he's healed."

Then, Toji and Chi Fu lifted the crime kingpin to his feet, wrapping each of his arms around their shoulders as they carried him to the limo.

"Are we even still going to the funeral?" Yin asked, voicing the obvious question everyone had on their minds.

"Yes," Qin wheezed, halfway into the limo already. "This doesn't change anything. Go. We'll regroup and discuss this afterwards. Gun, you're in charge until I get back."

Then Zolt hopped into the limo, lifting the dead driver out, and sped off down the street, leaving the rest of us by ourselves.

Gun wasted no time before telling everybody what to do. "Alright, everybody listen up," he said. "We need to get out of here quick before the cops show up. So everybody just squeeze into a limo. We all know what route to take, so we can drive there ourselves. Shang and Tsang were killed last night, which means Kyoko obviously heard about it and told the Agni Kais and the Red Monsoons we would be taking our funeral route. So, there could still be others down the road. So, just keep your eyes open. Now, when we get to the funeral, the feds are gonna start asking us a bunch of questions, but you won't be giving them any answers. Everybody understand?"

After being met with the word 'yeah' from thirty different people, Gun continued. "Alright," he said. "Let's move."

I started towards the limo of my choice, with Yin going towards the same one. "Hey," she said. "Thanks for having my back out there."

It was highly uncharacteristic of her to actually thank anyone, let alone me, for anything. She almost sounded kind of embarrassed to be expressing such gratitude. But I appreciated it nonetheless. "No problem," I said. "Just looking out for my crewmate."

As I expected she might, Yin rolled her eyes at that statement, then climbed right into the limo. There was the Yin I knew.

Then, each of our cars pulled off of the curb and sped away towards the cemetery, our little hiccup now in the past.

And it was just a few moments after we all started to drive away that a thought occurred to me, that I assumed also occurred to everybody else. We didn't see one single earthbender in that fight that wasn't on our side.

I guess Gun was right. Yash was probably gonna make the call any day now.

* * *

Not twenty-four hours later, and there we all were in a warehouse in Kwonghai, meeting with the whole Terra crew.

At this point, I considered it crazy how many important meetings someone as new to the group as me had been to since joining. But by now, Gun had officially made me the person he always took with him as backup, so it was much less awkward than me just randomly being there for no reason.

The warehouse we were in couldn't have been a worse fucking choice for a sit-down location. There was no heat, meaning we were all being exposed to the frosty, Republic City air, and therefore freezing our asses off, and there was no lighting, so it was dark as shit. But, whatever. As uncomfortable as we all may have been, the point was we were finally gonna get some shit done.

Repping our side was a fully recovered Qin, as well as Gun, Zolt, Ryu, Toji, one of Ryu's crew members, named Wong, and myself.

Repping the Terras was Yash, his dashing son and underboss, Gory Goru, his consigliere, Ren, and his three captains, Stabby Shiguk, Buck-Toothed Bao, and Twelve-Toed Ping.

They were all there already, waiting, when the lot of us finally strolled in.

"Qin," Yash said. "Glad you could make it."

"So am I," said Qin. "In fact, I'm glad I can even walk right now."

"Everyone here knows that we had no part in that awful business yesterday," said Yash. "I'm sorry that that had to happen, but from what I hear, you took out about half of 'em on your own, so… don't feel too sorry for yourself."

Then, once we reached the table they were all sitting at in the middle of the warehouse, we all sat down, and the meeting began.

"So," Qin said. "Ren told me yesterday that you want to make a truce."

"That's right," said Yash. "You know I've got no personal beef with any of you. But I'm a man of loyalty. So, I've stuck by Tang, as I felt I was bound to do, throughout this whole thing. But, frankly, enough is enough. I wanna end this thing. I wanted to end it before it even started, but cooler heads just couldn't prevail. But now that we're all here, and there's nobody insulting anybody, and nobody beating anybody to a pulp, and nobody asking for an apology-"

"We get it, Yash," said Qin. "Just tell us what your terms are."

"We help you kill Tang, Kodana, and all the other Agni Kai and Red Monsoon higher ups," said Yash. "And, in exchange, you give us the weapons we asked for, and our two organizations enter a business deal. A business deal that I think you'll find fair, because it'll be very profitable for both of us. Every time one of us gets a new operation, the other triad gets a cut. We can negotiate the percentage later."

It didn't take Qin long to mull this over. He knew any potential downsides were outweighed by all the upsides. We gained a new ally in the war, which would be over soon with their help, and we entered a potentially very rewarding partnership with said allies.

All that was good enough for Qin to say, "Deal," and shake on it with Yash.

"Now, I don't want you guys to freak out or anything," said Yash. "But we brought someone else with us. Come on out!"

Emerging from the shadows behind the Terras was a woman I had only seen twice before, and who I didn't expect to see here at all tonight. It was Lorako. As in, Lorako, Kodana's right-hand and the underboss of the Red Monsoon Triad. Here. In this warehouse. Listening to us discuss taking out her whole triad's leadership.

All of us immediately became apprehensive upon seeing her, but the woman didn't even flinch, continuing to walk straight towards us.

"Didn't I just tell you not to do that?" Yash said, in response to our response to seeing her.

"What the fuck is she doing here?" Qin asked.

"Relax, tough guy," said Lorako. "I'm in on this whole thing with you."

"What are you talking about?" said Qin.

"Look, I'm just gonna make this simple," said Lorako. "I wanna be the boss. Okay? I'm tired of being Kodana's lackey. So, I'm looking at this as a nice career opportunity. The only thing I'm asking in return is that you don't kill me, okay?"

"Fine," Qin said. "I guess you've only been my enemy for about a week now."

"See!" said Lorako. "That's the perspective I'm looking for!"

"Now, all we need is for you to tell us when and where this hit is going down," said Qin.

"We're having a meeting in two days," said Yash. "To discuss our plans going forward about how to deal with you guys. We'll do it there."

"How many are gonna be there?" asked Qin.

"All the higher-ups," said Yash. "Tang, Kodana, all the captains. The consiglieres. Maybe a few others."

"Then we'll bring twice as many," said Qin.

"Good thinking," said Yash. "So, I guess that about covers everything."

"I guess so," said Qin, rising up out of his chair, and prompting everyone else on our side to do the same. "Pleasure doing business with you."

And with that, all of the Triple Threats started walking out of the building.

Now all we had to do was wait another two days for this whole thing to finally be over. Hopefully. It was very rare in this business that things actually went the way they were supposed to.

* * *

Qin wasn't kidding when he said we'd be packing some serious firepower. We were on our way to the meeting down in Kwonghai, and we had nearly thirty people from the Triple Threats and the Terras amongst our ranks, with Lorako being the sole representative of the Red Monsoons. We had Qin, Yash, Goru, Ren, all of the captains from each triad, all of the members of both Gun and Zolt's crews, several members of Ryu's crew, and a large number of Terra soldiers.

It had been two days since our meeting, and I hoped this would finally be the day this whole damn thing would end.

It had been ten long months since this war began, and it was still pretty crazy to me how everything had unfolded. I still don't believe I was responsible for starting this war, like everybody always liked to claim, but there was no doubt I had been a key player from the start.

All this death. All this destruction. All this deception. And so much of it stemmed from the fact that I chose to enter a relationship with Khan.

It was a good thing I decided to kill the son of a bitch, or else who knows how much worse we'd be doing in this war. And I noticed that was something nobody ever liked to bring up. How much of a favor I had done everybody by taking that motherfucker out. I didn't expect to hear any praise from the Agni Kais, but everyone else should've been showing a lot more gratitude, instead of blaming me for causing all of this, when it wasn't my fault in the first place.

And killing was something I still didn't want to have to do, but if I happened to be the one that took out Kodana today, that'd just be poetic. Because, in addition to settling my personal grudge with her, that would be the second time I whacked a triad leader during the course of this war. And I know Khan wasn't actually a leader, but come on. Who do you really think was running the Agni Kais when he was alive? Him or Tang?

No matter what happened, though, and no matter who killed who, one thing was for certain. This long and bloody war, that had tested all of us both physically and mentally, would finally end today.

We finally pulled up in front of the building where the meeting was being held, parking on the curb across the street.

It was an old, brick, three-story building down near the docks, with a view of the bay directly across.

We all waited before exiting our vehicles, allowing Yash and Lorako to get out first and deal with the guards posted out front.

They were on the other side of the street, so I couldn't make out what either of them were saying, but it was probably something along the lines of, 'yada, yada, yada, we're here for the meeting', y'know, business as usual. Then, after just a few short moments, both of the guards were either down on the ground or up against a wall, each of them meeting their untimely end.

Yash then signaled for the rest of us to follow them in, so we all sprang into action. I, and the group that I was riding with, everyone in my crew except Gun, hopped out of the car at the same time as everybody else hopped out of theirs. We approached the steps to the building, and followed Yash and Lorako inside.

Qin, being the leader of our faction, joined the other two in the front, and the three of them led us in our march to victory. "Where's it being held?" Qin asked.

"Third floor," said Yash. "There'll be more guards along the way."

"How many?" asked Qin.

"Not nearly enough," said Lorako.

After marching through the dimly-lit hallway on the first floor, we made it to the stairwell, swiftly ascending it until we reached the second floor. The moment we stepped into the hallway, we saw four more guards stationed all the way at the end.

Before any of them could react, Yash metalbent the doors, that led into the second floor's various rooms, off their hinges, coating each of the guards in a blanket of metal. He then shot forward metal spikes from the doors, silencing each of them.

Then, after a lengthy stroll down that hallway, we reached the stairwell and once more ascended them, this time stopping halfway through. "We can't make too much noise this time or else everyone in the meeting will hear us," said Yash. "Just let my guys handle this."

Then, while the rest of us hung back, Yash went up to the third floor, taking Goru, Ren, and two of his captains with him. We couldn't see anything that was going on, but we could hear everything.

The first thing we heard was Yash say, "Hey, sorry we're late."

The next thing we heard was one of the guards say, "They're right down there at the end."

The next was Yash saying, "Thanks, pal."

Then, there were no more words. Just the sounds of Yash and his boys silently executing however many guards were up on that floor. It was strange, because I didn't hear the sound of anyone bending, so they either must've done it really quietly, or they actually killed them with their bare hands.

Then, after there were no more sounds to be heard at all, Ren came over to the top of the stairs and motioned for us to follow him. "Come on," he whispered.

The rest of us then proceeded up the stairs, with the three leaders once more in the front.

Now there was nothing between us and all of the leading members of the Agni Kai and Red Monsoon Triads except for five dead bodies scattered across the floor of the hallway.

As we approached the door leading into the room where the meeting was being held, I could hear Tang's voice from the inside.

"How much longer until Yash and the Terras show up?" he questioned. "They've got us waiting in this hot-ass building with no air conditioning."

Before anyone in the room could reply, Qin had already kicked in the door, alarming everyone inside. Then the lot of us filed into the room as quickly as we could, lining up against the entrance, as our adversaries got out of their seats and retreated towards the back wall.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" shouted Yai.

Then, without further ado, every single one of us let loose with a flurry of bending attacks like we were a fucking firing squad, pelting our foes with an unlimited amount of fire, earth, and water.

I had gotten more used to this part of the job after having done this for a year now, but it was still very difficult for me to hold it together as I saw the bodies of those men and women savagely ripped apart. The blood spurting everywhere, the holes opening up all over their bodies, the agonized expressions on their faces that quickly gave way to lifeless ones. It wasn't exactly easy to deal with. But, thankfully, it didn't last very long, and after about ten to fifteen seconds, every one of them was dead.

We all examined the bodies, taking note of everyone who was in the room. And it didn't take long to notice there was one glaring exception.

We saw Tang, Yai, each of the Red Monsoon captains who weren't involved in the street fight from the other day, and Akuga, the Red Monsoons' consigliere, but there was one very notable person missing.

"Kodana's not here," said Yash. "She's the only one not here. Of course. She must have seen it coming."

"It doesn't matter," said Qin. "She won't be able to run very far. We'll all have people looking for her." Then he let out a chuckle. "Up until the end, she's proving that she's the toughest opponent out there. We slaughtered everyone else easily… but she's making us work for her death."

"Well, despite that," said Yash. "I'd say this is a pretty joyous day. This war is finally over. And we now have ourselves what will hopefully be a very long-lasting friendship between our triads."

Hearing those words. 'This war is finally over'. I can't even tell you how happy those words made me. Even though I was saying earlier how I knew it was gonna be over by the end of the day, nothing could've prepared me for when I actually heard someone say it out loud.

At long last, I could finally rest.

* * *

An hour later, and me and the rest of Gun's crew were all back in our restaurant hideout, seated around Gun once more as he spoke to us.

"I just wanna thank you all for everything you did during that war," he said. "It may not have been as long as some of the others we've had in the past, but it was just as brutal. And I just wanna thank you all for the bravery and the strength that each of you showed through it all. Especially you, Song."

Then, all eyes and heads shifted in my direction, as Gun continued praising me.

"None of us endured as many hardships as you did," he went on. "You had Khan date you, then try to kill you, then you had to kill him. You've stared death in the face numerous times, whether you were in the middle of a fight, or standing up in a room full of the most dangerous people in Republic City, and telling them 'no'. And, in addition to everything you did for the triad, you've also done a lot for me. You helped me come to terms with the most traumatic event of my life, and taught me an important lesson at the same time. And all of this from a person who was kidnapped and forced into this business against her will. You've been an enormous help to us, Song. If it wasn't obvious before, it's for certain now. You're one of us."

Everybody else in the room started clapping for me. Even Yin, although hers was the least enthusiastic clap I've ever seen in my life.

"What'd I tell you guys?" asked Chi Pa. "I told you she had it in her."

"I knew it ever since she killed Khan," said Lu.

"You're a tough one, Song," said Mong. "We all respect the heck outta that."

"You got anything to say, Yin?" Chi Pa goaded.

"She knows all of this already," Yin said. "I'm not gonna kiss her ass any more than you guys are already doing."

"I guess some things never change!" said Mong, prompting a laugh from everybody in the room.

"Thanks, guys," I said. "And thanks for being so nice to me ever since I got here."

"Hey, it's like the man said," said Mong. "You're one of us now. You're part of this crew. And in this crew, we take care of our own."

The genuine camaraderie from these guys was actually really touching to me. I finally felt like I was all the way into these guys' circle, instead of being the newbie outsider. I hoped my friendships with each of them would be strong and long-lasting ones going forward. Crazy, right? I never thought when I got started here that I would actually want to be friends with any of these people.

I looked up at Gun and shot him a warm smile that said, 'thank you for being my best friend out of everybody here'.

Then he shot me back a slight grin, since it was impossible for Gun to smile, that said, 'You're welcome, Song'.

Speaking of best friends, there was only one more place that I had to go for the rest of the night before I finally made it home. Although, this place had more or less been a second home to me over the past year. And I think you all know where I'm talking about.

* * *

Just thirty minutes after leaving the hideout, I was already strolling through Gan's bar, more than ready to unwind after the insane day I had just been through.

As I weaved my way through the crowd of people, I found myself happy to see all of the regulars that frequented this place every night. The drunks and the young people. The businessmen and the dames. The weary workers and the rich people and everyone else in between.

Being in this place always made me feel safe, and seeing all of the familiar sights this club had to offer really helped to get the day's stress out of my system.

After making my way to the bar, I plopped myself down in my usual spot, and waited for Gan to come over.

I didn't have to wait long, because in just five seconds, he had already spotted me, and walked on over with an enormous smile on his face. "Hey, child," he said. "How you doin' tonight?"

"Pretty good actually," I replied.

"Pretty good," Gan repeated. "That's the first time I've heard you describe yourself that way in a while! I'm happy to hear it. So, you want your usual?"

"You know it," I said, prompting him to go back and make me a drink.

"So," he said, while preparing my scotch. "Anything you wanna talk about tonight?" It was only another moment before he returned, sliding me my glass of scotch.

"Well, now that you mention it," I said. "It's been about a whole damn year now since I first got involved with… you know." I then proceeded to take a swig of the scotch.

"Oh, wow," said Gan. "Has it really been that long?"

"Yeah," I said. "And it's been a crazy year. I've seen and had to do things you could never even imagine. Things I never could've imagined. Things I didn't even know I was capable of."

"I'm sorry, child," Gan said. "I know it's been rough on ya."

"Don't be," I said, remaining upbeat. "I've actually gotten kinda used to it now. Plus, I'm sticking to my code, so it's not like I'm doing anything awful."

"Well, that's good," said Gan. "I'm glad you're finally easing into it."

"Yep," I said. "It's been a crazy year. And I have no idea where I'll be a year from now." Then I raised my glass. "But here's to hoping the next year is a good one."

"Here, here," Gan said, echoing the sentiment. "So," he said. "I'm assuming something happened to Hideki. Y'know. Considering he hasn't shown up for work in about a week."

"Aw, geez," I said. "That's a long and complicated story."

"Girl, you always say that like I've got somewhere else to be," said Gan. "Go on. Spill it."

I took a pause before telling him the sad truth, which I was definitely not going to reveal to him in full. "He's not living with me anymore," I said.

"What?" Gan asked, deeply shocked. "Why? What happened?"

"He found out about… what I do," I said. "And he left. He said he was never coming back."

"Well, go out and find him!" Gan said. "I'm sure you two can work it out. You just have to make him understand the situation."

"No," I said. "There's, uh… there's no chance of that happening."

"But-" Gan started.

"Trust me, Gan," I interrupted. "He's not coming back. And, frankly, I don't want him back. He made it clear before he left that he was prejudiced against benders, and that the only reason he was putting up with me was because he had a crush on me."

It sounded so much worse when I said it out loud.

"Damn," Gan said. "That's fucked up. Well, then, good riddance to him."

"You said it," I replied.

Then the phone Gan had connected to the wall began to ring, prompting him to go answer it. "'Scuse me one second," he said. He was only back there for a couple of seconds before he returned with the phone in his hand. "It's for you," he said, handing me the phone.

I took it from him, confused as to who could've known I was here, and answered it. "Hello?" I said.

"Enjoying your night, Song?" teased the voice of Kodana, coming through the phone clear as day.

I was instantly alert upon hearing the sultry, arrogant sound of her annoying voice, afraid that something could happen to me at any moment. "Kodana?" I asked.

"The one and only," she replied.

"How did you know I was here?" I inquired.

"I know a lot about you and your whole crew," Kodana replied. "Our mole provided us with a ton of information. Sorry to hear you guys got her, by the way."

"Yeah," I replied. "Well, don't sound too cocky, because you're gonna be the next one to go. They've got half the Triple Threat and Terra Triads looking for you."

"They'll never find me," said Kodana. "And once they've given up, I'll wait for as long as I need to. And then I'll be back. And guess what? You and Gun are gonna be the first ones I visit."

"Bring it on," I replied, handing Gan the phone back.

Then I took another swig of the scotch, and pondered a bit more about what the next year might hold.

Just pondered and pondered and pondered away.


	21. Book Three - Chapter 1

Two years. That's how much time I had put into this business by this point. Two years.

That's right. A whole year has passed since we last left off. I guess because nothing particularly interesting happened during that time. The war ended, business prospered, and the Triple Threat Triad had a pretty good year at the end of it all. It was a nice change of pace from constantly wondering about shifting allegiances or getting shot on a street corner, or… well, I guess, at the end of the day, those are things you always had to worry about in this business. But not nearly as much as you did during a war. Honestly, I was just happy to not have any grudge-holding Agni Kais out to get me anymore.

Now, I know you're expecting some spiel about how I still couldn't believe how, after all this time, I was still doing this, but, honestly, at this point, I was used to it. I mean, I still found it a bit weird at times. What with the circumstances and all. Who wouldn't, right? But, yeah. I was totally used to it by then. So, if you're expecting to hear anything like that from now on, sorry to disappoint you.

At the present moment, I was sitting on my usual stool at Gan's bar with a glass of scotch in my hand, getting ready to hear Yoshi's new stand up act. He was supposed to go on five minutes ago, but he apparently got caught up in traffic. Not that it mattered much to me. Even after all this time, I still didn't think his stand up was that funny, so I didn't really mind having to wait.

Gan, on the other hand, felt differently. "This is just great," he said. "He's already five minutes late. He called me from Appa Avenue, which means he's not gonna be here for another twenty minutes. Oh, and you know he's gonna wanna sit in his dressing room and eat something first, so that's gonna be another fifteen minutes."

"I really doubt that many people are dying to hear his bit about the similarities between Fire Nation men and hog monkeys," I replied. "I love the guy, but I don't think it's gonna kill anybody to wait for him."

"Believe it or not," Gan said. "People here actually think he's funny. And I promised them a show tonight."

"Well, there's nothing you can do about it," I said. "So, there's no point in getting upset."

"Yeah, I guess," said Gan.

"So," I said, changing the subject. "How's Mala doing? Is she feeling better?"

Mala was Gan's new squeeze. Well, I shouldn't say 'new'. They'd been going out for about ten months now.

I gotta admit, I didn't like her at first. Due to the fact that she was needlessly intimidated by me. She did all the typical bullshit you would expect. She'd act hostile towards me, tell Gan that our relationship was unusual, everything straight off the paranoid girlfriend checklist. But then, once I took her to lunch and had a nice chat with her, I convinced her that Gan and I were just friends, and had never even considered being anything else. Now she and I were actually on pretty good terms.

"Well, she's still a little weak," said Gan. "But she's feeling a heck of a lot better than she was yesterday. Thanks for asking."

"It's weird," I said. "Her not being here. I've gotten so used to her walking around here every night."

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention. Mala was also the new floor manager here. Again, I use the word, 'new', loosely. She was basically in charge of making sure everything in the club ran smoothly, allowing Gan more freedom, less stress, and the ability to pour me more drinks than he could if she wasn't around.

"Yeah, she's been a real big help around here," said Gan. "Damn, I'm so lucky I found her."

"I'll say," I replied. "I don't think I've ever seen you as happy as you've been since you met her."

"I honestly think she might be the one, child," Gan said. "She's everything I've ever been looking for."

"Ooooh," I said. "Do I hear wedding bells?"

"I don't know yet," said Gan. "But it's not unlikely that, in a year from now, that just might be where we are."

"Well, let me give you some advice," I said. "Try and aim for less than a year. Because if you're thinking about all this, then she is too. And women don't like to wait. Take it from someone who knows."

"I'll keep that in mind," Gan said. "Thank you. Now, since we're on the subject, when are you gonna find yourself a nice man?"

"Gan, really?" I whined. "Are you ever gonna stop bringing this up?"

"Listen," he said. "I just want you to have with someone what I have with Mala. I know that's what you want too. Why don't you get back out there?"

"Gan," I replied. "Do you remember the last guy I dated?"

"That was a year and a half ago," Gan said. "It's time to move on with your life. Besides, call me crazy, but I feel like none of the guys you'll go out with for the rest of your life will end up being as lowdown and dirty as him. And you can keep going from guy to guy if you want to, but I feel like you would be better suited for an actual relationship. Now, I happen to know a guy who said he'd be interested in getting to know you. You can say no if you want, but I feel like that would be a mistake."

"A blind date?" I asked. "With some creep from this place? Oh, yeah. That sounds much better than what I've been doing for the last year and a half."

"Just consider it," Gan said. "Please."

I rolled my eyes, knowing full well how this was gonna turn out, but decided to cave anyway. "Fine," I said. "Give me his number and I'll call him."

"That's what I'm talking about!" said Gan.

"When this goes badly," I said. "When, not if, I'm gonna come all the way over here and slug you in the arm for making me do this."

"Trust me," said Gan. "By this time Friday night, I think you'll be singing a different tune."

* * *

The following afternoon, I was sprawled out on the couch in my living room, wearing sweatpants and a tank top, and listening to a new record I'd gone out and bought earlier. It was from this hot new jazz singer named Jasmine Hikage, whose music I had come to absolutely adore over the past year.

I consider myself a fan of pretty much any genre of music. I can connect with any kind of song, but jazz music had this… this… quality to it that I connected to on such a deep level. They say that it's the gateway to the soul, and that was something I could honestly attest to. Especially after getting into Jasmine Hikage's music.

And, the way I always saw it, the reason people's taste in music varies is because the essence of a song is the right words and the right melody randomly happening upon each other to deliver an emotional sensation that the listener uses to connect with it. The combination of the words and the melody was different for each person. And Jasmine Hikage had found my combination. The sultry sound in her voice, marinated with heartbreak and personal struggles, paired with the words you know she so carefully chose to express her feelings through the song… it really struck a chord with me.

I want you to think of a melody in your head. Take one you've already heard that you know you like, or come up with one in your head. Now pair it with these lyrics, and let yourself feel whatever comes.

It was three o'candle I'd had to wait Four whole hours For my hot date I never would've But I felt I should've For the one who left me there

We'd met that morn We spent all day Making each other Feel some type of way It really killed To feel so thrilled By the one who left me there

He had to go To meet with friends He said meet me here Once my dinner ends At just eleven I'd be back in Heaven With the one who left me there

And now I'm here Feeling a fool Swigging my scotch Here on this barstool So now I'm drinking And now I'm thinking About the one who left me here

If you didn't feel anything at all there, I'm sorry, but you have no soul.

Just as that particular song was near it's completion, I heard an unexpected knock on the door.

I quickly shot up off of my couch and switched off my phonograph, wondering who the fuck would be knocking on my apartment door at four o'candle in the afternoon on a day I wasn't working. I ran towards the door, staring through the peephole to see none other than Yin standing on the other side, already looking annoyed that I hadn't answered my door yet, even though she had only knocked ten seconds ago.

Deciding that I didn't have time to change, I swung the door open, bringing the two of us in a position I sincerely did not want to be in with her today. Face-to-face.

"Hi," I said, a hint of confusion in my voice. "Is there something you need me for?"

"Get dressed," Yin said. "Qin's called for a meeting with the Makapu City people."

"Now?" I asked, noticeably frustrated by the lack of any kind of a head's up on Qin's part.

"It's a last-minute situation," said Yin. "Gun is already down there, so he asked me to drive you. By the looks of it, it doesn't look like I'm interrupting anything."

Aw, man. After two whole years of working together, one thing about Yin that definitely hadn't changed was the fact that she was a condescending bitch.

"Fine," I said, practically through gritted teeth. "I'll get ready." I then promptly slammed the door in her face, which, I'm sure, caused her to roll her eyes.

I set out into my bedroom to get ready for this impromptu meeting, dreading the car ride with Yin on the way over more than anything the actual meeting might've contained.

* * *

About thirty minutes later, the two of us were in Yin's Satomobile, cruising through Republic City's industrial district on our way down to the docks.

The people we were meeting were from Makapu City, a place located just over the mountains, across from Republic City. They were the leaders of the biggest drug empire in the United Republic of Nations, which meant that it was one of the biggest in the world. And, from what it sounded like, it seemed like they were looking to do business with us. That was just one of the many things that had brought change over the past year. Dealing in drugs. We'd never done it before, but Qin and Yash seemed to think it was the way of the future.

Among the other things that had changed was the woman sitting next to me. In the past year, Yin had finally started to come out of her shell a little bit. She was still a cold, quiet, condescending bitch, but those were just pieces of the puzzle now, rather than the whole thing. She had become less withdrawn, less antisocial, and a lot less of a pain to be around. Of course, you wouldn't know that, given the fact that all I've done this whole time is complain about how much she annoys me. But, still. These days, she was less the antagonistic bitch who everyone hated, and more the ultra-serious buzzkill friend who, at times, had plenty of snark to go around.

I wondered sometimes what caused her to change. The Yin I knew before wouldn't let what anyone thought of her make her feel the need to better herself. The Yin I knew before couldn't give less of a shit about what anybody thought of her. And I couldn't think of anything else that might've made her change. She certainly didn't wake up one day and decide she needed to be a better person.

But there was a reason. There was a reason that she'd changed. And it fascinated me to no end to think of what happened in her life, a life I knew absolutely nothing about, that could've caused it.

Finally, as that particular train of thought ended, we pulled up to the docks, where we could see everybody from both our camp and the Terras' was already waiting. It was all the usual suspects. Gun, Zolt, Qin, Ryu, Toji, and Wong repping our side, and Yash, Goru, Ren, and all their captains repping the Terras.

Unfortunately for me, it looked like the Makapu City people hadn't arrived yet, which meant that I was gonna have to do some waiting. "Thanks for the ride," I said, opening the car door and letting myself out.

"Whatever," Yin replied, indifferently.

The moment I had shut the door, Yin had already started backing up, apparently not wanting to waste a minute getting on with her day.

Having finally arrived, I made my way towards my colleagues, eager to be filled in on why we had all been called down here on such short notice. "Hey," I said. "So, what's the deal? Why the sudden meeting with these guys?"

"They called us about an hour ago and said they wanted to meet here," said Qin. "They said they have business to discuss with us."

"Hopefully they'll get here before we all fucking freeze to death!" Zolt groaned, shivering as he breathed a little puff of fire in front of his hands, in order to keep them warm.

Having gotten my explanation, I ignored everyone else and walked straight over to Gun, who I noticed was also shivering. I'm telling you, man. Republic City in the winter is a real bitch.

"Hey," said Gun. "We interrupt anything important?"

"Nah," I said. "I was just listening to some records."

"Jasmine Hikage?" Gun asked with a grin.

"Yeah," I replied. "How did you know?"

"Because you wouldn't shut up the other night about how much you loved her," Gun said. "You did us all the favor of singing one of her songs out loud. I thought Mong was gonna piss his pants."

"Wow," I said, my face bright red. "That's mortifying. Did I sound good at least?"

"As good as anyone can sound after five glasses of scotch," said Gun.

"Still better than any of you yahoos," I said.

"Oh, I'm sure," said Gun.

"Here they come," said Ryu.

The rest of us turned to see a sleek, black limo pulling up just in front of us, stopping only a few feet away from where we were standing. Out from the limo emerged just three individuals, and each of them could not have looked more like criminals. If you ever pictured in your head what three high-level drug manufacturers looked like, these are the three images that would come up.

The first one was a bald guy, with little scraps of snowy white hair lining the sides of his head. He was probably in his seventies, if I had to guess his age, and his skin tone was a bit tan. Not as tan as a waterbender, but not as light as an earthbender or a firebender. I naturally assumed he had a mixed heritage. He also had a scowl on his face that looked natural, rather than something he was willingly summoning up. He was surely the boss. And not just because he was standing in front of the other two.

His two companions looked like a matching set of gangster action figures. One of them had black hair with silver wings running through the sides, and an even bigger scowl than the leader, although his clearly wasn't natural. This guy was born to be a gangster. He never could've turned out to be anything else looking like that.

The other one was a guy with a face like a bull-dog, but without the horns of course, and a set of wavy, ink-black hair on the top of his head that had to be a mile high. His scowl, weirdly enough, was the biggest of all.

I wasn't sure if they were all just trying to project a certain image of themselves onto us, or if they really were in that fowl of a mood, but either way. I did not get a very friendly vibe from these people.

As the guy in the front approached us, the other two followed. "Qin! Yash!" he said in a rather scratchy, gravelly voice. "So good to see you!"

"Lao," said Qin, as he and Yash approached the man. "It's good to see you too. Although, we were both expecting your brother."

"Well, that's the thing," Lao started. "He's dead. He passed away about a week ago."

"Oh, spirits," said Yash, visibly startled by this revelation. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"We all are," said Qin. "He was a good friend."

"Yeah," said Lao. "We've all been pretty shaken up about it. Of course, naturally, I've been made the new head of this operation, and I'm determined to make him proud."

"I have no doubt you will," said Yash.

"Thank you," said Lao. "Now, let's talk business."

"Alright," said Qin. "What've you got for us?"

"I want to make a deal with both you guys," said Lao. "I'm looking to expand to Republic City. Chao was always too afraid to do it, since it would bring a lot more heat down on us from the feds, but I think it's the next logical step for this business. We'll keep manufacturing the dragon grass, and you guys will distribute it throughout the city. You'll, of course, get a sizeable cut of the profits."

"Hmm," said Qin. "Sounds like a lot of potential extra trouble for us. But I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle. What d'ya say, Yash?"

"Same thing as you, Qin," said Yash. "We're in."

"Excellent!" said Lao. "Glad to hear it!"

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership," said Yash.

"I certainly hope so," said Lao. "Listen, we'll all be in town for the next few days. Why don't we all get together for some drinks sometime?"

"That sounds wonderful," said Qin.

"Gun," Lao said, addressing my mentor for the first time. "I know Po and Lito here have been itching to pay you back for the last pai sho game you played together. I'm sure we'd all like to see that rematch!"

"I'll take these two jokers on any time, any place!" Gun replied, motioning towards Lao's henchmen.

"Keep acting cocky," said Po, the henchman with the silver streaks in his hair. "See how far that gets ya."

"If you couldn't tell," chuckled Lito, the henchman with the wavy black hair. "He's way more upset about losing than me. But I'm still planning on taking your ass down."

"I look forward to ruining your plans, then," Gun retorted.

"Alright," said Qin. "It's getting late, and I'm sure we all have places to be. It was nice seeing you, Lao. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other in the near future."

"You can count on it," said Lao, climbing back into his car with his henchmen in tow.

And just like that, the meeting was over. We all got dragged down here and were forced to endure this freezing cold weather just for about five minutes of talking, if even that.

I really hated my job sometimes.

* * *

The following evening, I was sitting in a nice restaurant, in the middle of the first date I'd had in a year and a half.

It felt weird, going on a date again. Not just because of how long it had been since my last one, but because I had just never been on that many period. Normally the way I interacted with guys was by meeting them in Gan's nightclub, then going back to either my place or his and fucking his brains out. That was the process I preferred more when it came to meeting guys, but I knew that was no way to actually get to know them. Which is why I was here. To actually get to know one. And, y'know. Not have him turn out to be a crazy gangster trying to kill me.

Surprisingly enough, it was going pretty well so far. The guy, whose name was Fah, by the way, was funny, cute, and he actually listened, which was always a plus. He was a bit of a skinny fella, about my age, with a bowl cut atop his head and a stylish leather jacket draped over him.

"I gotta be honest," he said. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time. I always come in there and see you talking to Gan up at the bar, and I always tell myself 'tonight's the night I'm gonna ask her out', but I always end up pussying out."

"Well, if it makes you feel good," I replied. "So far you haven't made me regret saying yes."

"That is a relief," Fah said.

"So," I said. "Are you a fan of sports?"

"Oh, yeah," he said. "I'm a huge pro-bending fan."

"Alright!" I said. "Getting off to a good start!"

"Are you a fan too?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," I replied. "Lifelong fan."

"Who do you pull for?" he queried.

"The Elephant Koi," I answered.

"Ooh, nice," he said. "They're doing pretty well right now."

"How about you?" I inquired.

I was met with a brief chuckle before I was met with a reply. "The Moose Lions," he said. "Yikes," I said. "That must suck."

"Yeah," Fah laughed. "I'm telling you, you can never know the feeling of misery that comes with being a Moose Lions fan."

"Yeah," I laughed. "I can imagine."

"No, you can't," Fah replied. "Trust me. I mean, you'd think it'd be impossible for a team that started off so strong to be such a shitshow for thirty-five years, but when you've got management as bad as theirs, it's really no wonder."

"Yeah," I replied. "That's always a killer. And no matter how much they change it up, it always seems to stay the same."

"Yeah," he said. "And all the illegal gambling doesn't help."

Aw, shit. There it was. The thing that was gonna ruin this evening.

"What do you mean?" I asked, treading very carefully in the treacherous waters his words had created.

"C'mon, you know what I'm talking about," Fah said. "All those fucking gangsters who bet on the matches. Half the time, it doesn't matter how good a team is. If Kingpin Qin wants 'em to go down, they go down."

"Yeah," I said, nervously clearing my throat in what was seemingly an attempt to act as suspicious as possible. "I guess that is a real problem."

"I tell ya," said Fah. "Those fucking triads are a cancer to this city. If the police force wasn't so damn corrupt, they might actually be able to do something about them."

"Yeah," I muttered. "They're uh… they're pretty terrible."

"I mean, they just do whatever they want," Fah continued. "They murder, they swindle, they turn the greatest city in the world into a fucking shithole, and they get off completely scot free. As far as I'm concerned, every single one of 'em is scum."

As you might expect, this was not exactly something I was thrilled to hear. I did my best to turn the situation around, hoping he might just have it in his heart to make an exception for me if he ever needed to. "Well, I mean… not every single one of them," I spoke up. "They aren't all necessarily bad people."

"What are you talking about?" Fah asked.

"Well, I mean, maybe some of them don't have a choice," I said. "Maybe some of them are just doing it because they have nowhere else to turn."

"Nowhere else to turn?" he repeated. "No where else to turn?! There's always somewhere else to turn other than organized crime!"

"You don't know that!" I insisted. "Sometimes there are circumstances where a person has no choice! And, y'know, it's not like they kill innocent people! They only kill other people who are involved with the triads!"

"That's not true at all!" said Fah. "And what the fuck are you defending them for? What, do you got a relative who's a gangster or something?"

"No!" I replied. "I just don't think it's very fair of you to judge an entire group of people you don't even know!"

"That's a load of bullshit," Fah spat. "If you wanna sit here and try to justify the actions of the people who are making this city one big gutter, then go ahead. But I know better. And so does everybody else in this city who's ever been victimized by those thugs."

Well, that sealed it. There was no future to be had with this guy. Rather than stay and needlessly sit in uncomfortable silence for the rest of the evening, I leaned in towards him in order to say one last thing.

"Just because what they're doing is wrong, doesn't make them bad people," I told him. Then I stood up, took out my wallet, threw down some cash, and promptly headed towards the exit.

What happened that night was something that had actually occurred to me several times over the past year or so. That my job would only increase the difficulty of finding a special someone. Because not many people would want to marry a gangster, right? Fuck. I just said 'marry'. That was a pretty heavy word to use. But it was true. It didn't matter how many advantages I had when it came to courting guys. I would always have a neon sign over my head that said, 'Gangster. Approach with Caution'.

And it was a hard enough time for a man in this business to find himself a wife. But that was far more doable for a woman in this business to find a husband. Because men never wanted to feel like the weaker one in the relationship. Like their wife was tougher or stronger or more of a badass than they were. It made them feel emasculated. So, imagine what it would be like if I married a salesman or a bartender. You think he'd be secure with his masculinity knowing that his wife was some hotshot gangster who had the word, 'danger', in her job description? So, that was another hindrance to my love life.

But, honestly, if I took anything away from that night, it's that the whole thing reconfirmed what I already knew. I wasn't in a place in my life where I was really looking for someone special anyway. I was twenty-seven years old. Sure, I was in a place where I could have been looking to get hitched, but it wasn't a necessity right now. I was fine doing things the way I always did them for now, and if something happened down the road, something happened down the road. There was always gonna be time to find somebody, and right now just wasn't the time.

And it was probably gonna be a bit rough, but I knew that I'd eventually find someone. I had to.

* * *

The following evening, I was in the place I most often found myself these days. The back of our restaurant hideout, chatting it up with my crewmates.

As Gun sat behind his desk, counting the profits the day had brought, the rest of us sat on the sectional couch against the wall.

As was often the case, we were right smack dab in the middle of gabbing about the various love affairs the previous week had brought, and right now it was Chi Pa's turn.

"So, at this point," he said. "It's abundantly clear that we're not gonna be getting out of here until past midnight, which means we won't be getting home until around one, what with all the traffic. Of course, we had to pick the night where they went seven rounds into overtime."

I actually remembered listening to that pro-bending match on the radio a few nights ago. Even I was annoyed with how long it went, and I wasn't even there. The only problem I had to deal with was sitting on my couch and listening to it for longer than I had expected.

"So," Chi Pa continued. "It becomes very apparent that we're not gonna get laid tonight, since we'll both be too tired by the time we get home, which is unacceptable on a date night. So, suddenly, a thought pops into my head. Why wait? Just find some place here in the stadium. So I take Shikya, head outside the arena, and look for the nearest empty storage closet."

"You didn't," said Lu.

"You motherfucker," Mong chuckled.

"So, thirty minutes later," said Chi Pa. "We've just finished up, and we can already hear the sound of people leaving the stadium. We don't wanna get caught up in the traffic, so we just decide to wait in the storage closet. And before it even occurs to us to put our clothes back on, the janitor opens the door and sees us there."

"And you're completely naked?" Lu asked.

"Completely," said Chi Pa.

"That's a pretty tough spot to be in," Gun said.

"I wouldn't say tough," said Chi Pa. "At worst, it was just uncomfortable. Because as soon as he saw us there, he started yelling at us to get out, asking what was wrong with us, y'know, what you would expect. Shikya's hands have already shot up to cover her chest, meanwhile I'm still just lying there. And after he's done yelling, I just say, 'If you'd like, I'll turn over onto my other side and show you my ass so you can kiss it. Then you can get the fuck out, unless you want me to take one of these mops and shove it down your throat'."

This elicited a collection of laughs from everyone in the room, except for Yin, of course. As if I need to specify that she wasn't laughing.

"And he just left after that?" asked Mong.

"Yep!" said Chi Pa. "Didn't even say a word! Shikya was so turned on by how forceful I was, that we ended up going another round."

"Sounds like a pretty good date night to me!" I said.

"Speaking of which," said Chi Pa. "I do believe that it's you turn now."

"Oh, yeah, I can't wait to hear this," said Mong. "Song always has the best stories."

"Yeah, well," I said. "Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I don't have much to report tonight."

"Didn't you say you had a date last night?" asked Gun.

"Yeah, but it didn't go well," I replied.

"Wait a minute," said Lu. "Song went out with a guy and didn't score? What is the world coming to?!"

"What happened?" Mong asked.

"He started mouthing off about how he hates all the gangsters in this city," I said. "Saying how they're all scum and shit like that."

"The nerve of that fucking punk!" Mong said. "Where does he get off?"

"You tell him to go fuck himself?" Chi Pa asked.

"Not quite," I replied. "But I did tell him off."

"Atta girl!" said Lu. "Way to let him know."

They were all cheering me on for telling the guy off, but, to tell you the truth, what he said had made me think. For the first time in a while, it had made me think about the nature of the business I was in, and how I felt about being a part of it.

I knew that our business was dirty. I knew it was a business I wouldn't be involved in if I had any other choice. But that was the business. Not the people.

Sure, there were plenty of pieces of shit in this business. Zolt, Khan, Kodana, and plenty of other people spanning all four triads. Honestly, I would say there were more bad ones than good ones. But these guys? The ones I was sitting with right now? They weren't bad people. They may have done bad things on a fairly regular basis, but they weren't bad people. I had seen firsthand their capacity for so many emotions that bad people could never have. Honor. Loyalty. Love. If you took away the business, and were just left with the people, you would see them in a whole different light. But that's something that most people couldn't do. And I couldn't really blame them for that. But it was something I could do, with the position I was in. At the end of the day, I knew who they were, and no one else in this city, who only read about them through the newspapers, could. They were my friends. And I didn't want to be involved with anybody who would talk about my friends that way.

Or me, for that matter. Holy shit. I just realized I was also talking about myself that whole time.


	22. Book Three - Chapter 2

"He really said that?!" Gan chuckled, responding to what I had just told him seconds earlier.

The two of us were in the middle of his nightclub, as was the case most nights of the week, sharing in one of our typical conversations.

"Yeah," I replied, seated in front of him on my usual stool at the bar.

"He actually used the words, 'a cancer to this city'?" Gan asked.

"Verbatim," I replied. "He also said we were scum, and that we were thugs. So, once again, thank you, Gan, for setting me up with that delightful gentleman."

"Damn, child," said Gan. "I'm so sorry. I got a much better vibe from him than that. But, I mean, he's not entirely wrong. Some of you guys are pretty-"

"That's not the point!" I said. "The point is that he was referring to _everyone_ , including me. Even if he didn't know it."

"Right," Gan said. "Well, sorry again. I'll make sure to set you up with somebody better next time. And thanks for not punching me in the arm, like you said you were gonna."

"Oh, yeah," I said. "That reminds me." I then proceeded to slug him in the arm nearly as hard as I could, causing him to wince and jump back a bit in pain.

"For fuck's sake, child!" Gan yelled, halfway angry and halfway laughing.

"It's your fault for reminding me," I smirked, before taking a swig of scotch.

"Great spirits, you've got some arm on you," Gan chuckled. "Fuck."

"If you don't watch that language of yours," said a voice from a short distance to my right, "I'm gonna have to wash your mouth out with soap."

The two of us looked to see Mala, Gan's girlfriend of a little over ten months now, sauntering over to the bar. She was rather attractive, with a slender figure that popped even more due to her dazzling silver dress, a neat head of hair tied up into a fashionable knot, and a good-looking face that was accentuated by her toned cheekbones and her cherry-red lips.

"You'd be swearing too if Song here slugged you in the arm like she just did to me," Gan replied.

"She did, did she?" Mala asked, looking over in my direction as she stood beside me. "What'd you do to make her mad?"

"He set me up on a blind date I didn't even wanna go on," I replied. "And it turned out really badly."

"Girl, I'd have slugged him in the arm too," Mala replied. "I don't blame you at all."

"Damn," Gan said. "What'd I do to deserve y'all ganging up on me like this?"

This prompted Mala and I to share a laugh. It felt nice, the bond we had formed. In addition to being one of the coolest people I had ever met, she was someone who, like me, knew a lot about Gan, and that really helped us connect. Whenever we weren't talking about anything else, like pro-bending or jazz, there were a lot of times when we would swap embarrassing stories about Gan, which I always found to be pretty fun. Plus, having her around made me realize how few female friends I had, and how much I needed one that actually lived in the city. And all of these things made the fact that we had been so at odds with each other when we first met feel really bizarre. Because now, much like how Gan felt like an older brother to me, Mala felt like an older sister. She was someone who I now considered a close friend. And one who, I hoped, one day, would come to accept my dirty little secret, if I ever had to tell her.

"Well, anyway," Mala said. "I just came over here to say hi to Song, since I'm not gonna get to see you much for the rest of the night. We're pretty slammed, as you can see."

"Yeah," I replied. "All the booze hounds love to come out whenever there's a full moon."

"Boy, don't I know it," Mala said. "Anyway, it was good seeing you tonight," she added, moments before the two of us shared a quick embrace.

"You too," I replied.

Then Gan and I watched her make her way back into the densely populated club, walking with purpose as she took each step, something that clearly caught Gan's eye.

"Damn," he said. "That girl looks sexy when she walks around here. All determined and shit."

"Geez, Gan," I teased. "She's right about your language. You've gotta work on that."

"Oh, like you're one to talk?" Gan teased back. "You're worse than I am."

"Whatever," I grinned. "You don't hear her saying she's gonna wash my mouth out with soap."

"Yeah, well," Gan replied. "We'll see if that's true after a couple more glasses of scotch. Speaking of which, you want another one?"

"Please and thank you," I said.

It was funny, because I had only just now started to notice the dichotomy of my nights spent hanging out with friends. This was one side, the side that was considered respectable. The side where I wasn't in the company of criminals. The side where I wasn't involved in plotting anything. And, frankly, the side I enjoyed more.

This was the other side. Sitting in the back of our crew's hideout, shooting the shit. It was a side I did enjoy, but it couldn't compare to Gan's nightclub. Things were the opposite on this side. I was in the presence of criminals, not people who society would deem respectable, like Gan and Mala. And, although I blew off steam here just like I did there, here there was a layer of criminality around everything we did and said.

It was just fascinating to me. It was like I was alternating between two separate universes, where everything was the same, except one universe was normal, and the other was an alternate, slightly darker universe.

Much like in Gan's bar, here I was talking to all my friends who were present, with a whole bunch of teasing being thrown around the room.

"So, let me get this straight," said Lu. "You didn't fuck her, because she had a kid?"

"Yeah, that's what I said," said Mong, defending his own actions that he had just recounted to us all. "So what?"

"You said this was a class-A broad," Lu said. "How are you gonna let something like that keep you from fuckin' her?"

"'Cause I need a broad with a kid following me around like I need a fucking ice shard in the head!" Mong replied. "It's bad enough when the single ones get hung up on ya. I don't need one following me around, trying to make me feel guilty, saying, 'Oh, I'm just looking for someone to be his new daddy!', and shit like that. I'd just say, 'lady, what makes you think I'm interested in takin' care of your kid? My own kids are enough of a pain in the ass as it is!'"

This elicited a collection of laughs from everyone in the room, but just a slight chuckle from me. Mong and I were pretty tight by then. I considered him a friend just like the others. But there were still plenty of times when I was reminded of the fact that he was my least favorite out of everybody in our crew. This was one of them. As horrible as he was at times, though, I was largely indifferent to it by this point. Because, to me, despite the horrible qualities he had, he still wasn't all bad at the end of the day.

Our merriment was interrupted, as usual, by Gun, as he stood up from his desk and got our attention. "Alright, everybody listen up," he said, prompting all of us to turn and face him. "You're all getting no-work jobs tomorrow. You and Ryu's crew."

This caused Lu, Mong, and I to moan in dismay, as the thought of sitting out in the freezing cold weather all day was not something any of us took kindly to.

For those of you unaware, a no-work job was something that happened a lot in organized crime. It was basically a job that you got paid for, but didn't actually do. There were also no-show jobs, where you didn't even have to show up to the job, and you'd still get paid. In this instance, we were all gonna be 'working' at a construction site, supposedly doing hard labor. It was a way for us gangsters to have some sort of a legitimate income that we could show the government, while continuing to do illegitimate business.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it's gonna be really rough," Gun scoffed, in response to our moans and groans. "Sitting around and doing nothing but shooting the shit all day. You guys never do that."

"Yeah, not outside in the fucking twenty-degree weather, we don't!" I retorted.

Unlike the rest of us, Chi Pa was clearly amused at this. "What's the matter? You guys can't handle a little cold weather?"

"We're not all polar bear dogs like you, Chi Pa," Mong shot back.

"For spirits' sakes, wear a fucking coat or something," Yin spoke up. "Don't be a bunch of pussies."

"Ya see?" said Gun. "Yin's got the right attitude."

"So, does this mean you grew up in the Water Tribe too?" I queried, teasingly. "Does the mysterious Yin finally have some backstory we can fill in?"

"Maybe," said Yin. "Or maybe, after living in this city for all these years, I've gotten used to the fact that it's always freezing cold. Go figure."

"Alright, alright, enough of this," Gun interjected. "Just show up tomorrow at eleven o'candle. Bring drinks, bring snacks, bring whatever you want, to make the time go by faster. Just show up. That's all you have to do."

"You got it, boss," said Lu.

"That's what I wanted to hear," Gun replied.

The following day, we were all at the construction site, seated together in a circle of rusty, old lawn chairs, each of us ensconced in however many layers of clothing we felt was necessary to keep ourselves warm.

And I had been wrong about how cold it was gonna be. It wasn't twenty degrees after all. It was thirteen.

Those of us who could firebend were lucky. We could at least breathe a little bit of fire near our hands, in order to heat those up. And the waterbenders were used to this shit. The earthbenders were really more screwed than anybody.

Still, despite the cold weather, we all found ourselves getting quite a bit of enjoyment out of hanging with Ryu's crew, and none of us were short on interesting topics to discuss while we sat. And, since Ryu couldn't spare his entire crew, he left us just three of his people.

The first was his right-hand man, Wong. This dude seemed like he was straight out of a cartoon, sporting a black coat, a black fedora, a sleazy, pencil mustache spread across his upper lip, and a deadpan expression on his face which almost never changed. He also had a deep, grizzled voice you'd expect to hear from some dragon grass dealer in a dark alleyway. All he needed to complete the whole look was a toothpick jutting out of his mouth.

The second was Jazzman Joro. He was the most unassuming out of the trio, not even really looking like a gangster. He was a young, pale, fairly skinny guy with slicked-back black hair, who always wore a suit everywhere he went, even if the occasion didn't call for it. It was something everybody in the Triple Threats made fun of him for. The reason they called him Jazzman Joro was because he was really into jazz, and could apparently play the piano something fierce. I had never seen him do it, but it was something I always really wanted to witness with my own eyes since, you know, I'm pretty into jazz myself.

The final member of the trio was Skanky Sora, who, despite her name, wasn't actually a skank. Did she have a story to tell every now and then about the action she was getting? Sure. But she was definitely less of a skank than most of the people in this triad, and, unlike the others, she didn't have a significant other she was cheating on. But she was, after all, one of the few women we had amongst us, so there was immediately a double standard. The way she looked, though, she could've afforded to plow through every guy in the city if she so desired. Her slender body, cascading wave of gorgeous, jet-black hair, and sultry voice were, I imagine, irresistible to any guy.

"They had to stick us with this job in the winter," Joro said, shivering to an almost comical degree. "They couldn't have waited until the summer, when we could actually sit out here and enjoy ourselves. What a shit detail."

"Well, maybe if you had brought yourself a coat instead of that damn suit you're always wearing, you'd actually be a little warmer," Chi Pa joked.

This, naturally, elicited a round of laughs from the rest of us, while Joro remained unamused and freezing.

"Well, unlike you Water Tribe types, the rest of us, believe it or not, are actually capable of feeling cold," Joro shot back. "It's easy to laugh at the rest of us when all of you are warm-blooded."

"He's right, though," said Sora. "You should've brought a coat. Hopefully this'll finally be the lesson you need to stop wearing that damn suit all the time."

Clearly defeated, Joro's only response was a simple hand wave of defiance, followed by more shivering, as he sat there, looking like a starving jazz pianist begging for change on a street corner.

Yep. If there was one thing that we, as gangsters, knew how to do, it was break each other's balls. What always amazed me was how none of us ever seemed to run out of insults. You'd think there would only be so many things about a person that you could make fun of, and that these guys would've already heard most of them by now, yet we always seemed to pull out new things to say.

"Hey," Wong spoke up suddenly, turning to his fellow crewmates. "I got an idea. We should ask them about what we were talking about the other day, back at the hideout."

"Oh, yeah, that could be fun," said Sora.

"What's that?" asked Mong.

"We were all talking about our first kills," Wong said.

This elicited various 'ah's from our group, as the memories of each of our first kills were instantly beamed back into our heads. I assumed everyone else's were more pleasant than mine, but I mean, shit. It was totally possible mine was a walk in the park compared to what they had to do. Either way, it looked like I was about to find out.

"I remember mine," said Mong, with a smile. That let me know his wasn't bad at all. "Any of you remember Pong Hizhito?"

The only one who nodded was Lu, a knowing grin having adorned his elderly face. "Yeah, I remember," he chuckled. "Man, that guy gave Qin so many problems."

"Who was he?" I asked.

"He was a union leader," said Mong. "He wouldn't persuade his people to vote the way Qin wanted him to vote in the City Council election that year. And, I mean, he was serious about it too. Like Lu said, he really gave Qin a hard time."

"That's a load of bullshit," said Joro. "They wouldn't trust a first-timer with a job that big."

"Yeah, not if it was any of you bums," Mong laughed. "But there's a reason I've got the highest kill count in the whole damn triad. Gun knew he could trust me with it."

"I'm sure I can speak for both of us," Lu started. "When I say the best part of that night was when you, me, and Gun all went out for drinks afterwards."

"Oh, yeah!" Mong said. "We got fucked up so bad, I had a hangover for a week. And I nearly had charges pressed against me by a couple of bitches that worked there. They didn't know who I was at first, but they sure as shit learned afterwards."

This elicited laughs from all of the men present, while all us girls, naturally, stayed silent, choosing instead to roll our eyes and shoot smirks in Mong's direction.

"Yeah, well," Yin spoke up. "I agree with the sentiment that making anybody look at your dick under any circumstances is a criminal offense."

Sora and I immediately busted out laughing, totally unable to contain ourselves, while the others also joined in with some hearty chuckles.

"You might feel differently if you actually got to see it for yourself," Mong grinned, half teasing and half serious about what he was implying.

"Trust me, Mong," said Yin. "I can't think of anything more vomit-inducing."

"Ah, whatever," Mong scoffed. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were a lesbian anyway."

Realizing that this was only about two more cracks away from becoming a full-on brawl, I attempted to shift the conversation back to what it was originally supposed to be. "So, Lu," I said. "How about you tell us what your first kill was."

"Yeah, tell us about the time you whacked Avatar Wan and fed his body to the lion turtles," Chi Pa snickered, the implication being that Lu was ancient.

"Yeah, ha, ha, very funny," Lu retorted. "Fifteen years I've known you, Chi Pa, and that history bullshit that comes out of your mouth is still boring and uninteresting as fuck."

"So, what was it really?" asked Wong.

"It was fairly simple," Lu replied. "I just whacked a guy who ripped off a shipment of ours."

"See, that's so crazy to me," Sora said. "I've never been able to picture you whacking somebody before. You've always just kind of seemed like the kindly, old guy to me. The guy who cleans up the messes instead of making them."

"I used to look at him that way too," I said. "Then I started doing jobs with him."

"Y'know, it's funny," said Lu. "I used to kinda see myself that way too in the beginning. 'Course, I wasn't old yet, but I was still just a pretty simple guy. And killing that guy wasn't easy. I mean, it never is the first time, but this guy was just a kid. Twenty-six-years-old. I felt proud of myself when I did it, but… I also felt pretty torn up about it too. It changed the whole way I saw myself. Until then, I was just this simple schmuck from Yu Dao whose only vices were that he cracked too many jokes and, occasionally, drank too much liquor. Now I was a killer. And it's not like I didn't know that that's what I was signing up for. I mean, this is the Triple Threat Triad, right? But it just goes to show… you never know how it's gonna affect you… until it happens. I spent every day and every night for a week thinking about how I was becoming a different person, and how much I hated it. Now? Shit. I can put a motherfucker down without even thinking about it."

"Ain't that the truth!" said Mong, bestowing Lu with a good, firm pat on the back.

"You're next, Chi Pa," said Wong. "Let's hear it."

"Mine wasn't really anything special," said Chi Pa. "Just a pro-bender who wouldn't throw a fight."

This struck a chord with me somewhat, as this particular situation actually disgusted me a little bit. I, of course, never approved of murdering innocent people – something I still hadn't done yet, by the way, in case you were wondering – but I had learned to shrug it off, whenever someone told me about it. Innocent people dying was unavoidable in this business. I knew that. So, the way I looked at it, there was no point in dwelling on it, because there was nothing I could do about it. I mean, sure, I hated it. Sure, I wished that wasn't the case, and that I could intervene without getting whacked myself. But I couldn't, and I accepted that.

But killing a pro-bender? Because they wouldn't throw a match? Pro-bending was, obviously, something I held very dear to my heart, and a big reason for that was because of the integrity the players had. And to have that much integrity, and to hold on to that much integrity, and still end up getting whacked off like some punk? I don't know. It hit me harder than these kinds of stories usually did.

"Was it a guy any of us would know?" Wong asked.

"Well, it wasn't a guy I knew, so I doubt it," Chi Pa laughed.

"You can't even remember his name?" asked Sora.

"Shit, no!" Chi Pa chuckled. "What makes you think I can remember his name? Why would that have been important to me?"

"So, you just killed him and left?" asked Joro.

"Oh, no," Lu snickered. "You certainly didn't just leave."

"Shut up, Lu," said Chi Pa, the two of them clearly alluding to something that was undoubtedly about to be revealed to the rest of us.

"No, come on," Mong teased. "Tell them all what you did."

Chi Pa, clearly embarrassed, but not embarrassed enough to resist spilling his secret, simply rolled his eyes and scoffed, a nervous grin having taken hold of his face. "Okay, so, keep in mind, this was back when I had a whole different idea of what this business was gonna be. I thought everybody had to have a thing. Y'know. A signature style. And, as you all know, I am very into spiritual things."

"Really?" Yin piped up. "No, I don't think any of us knew that, Chi Pa."

"Yeah, ha, ha, ha," Chi Pa replied. "So, anyway, since I thought I needed a thing, and I'm really into spiritual stuff, I, uh… knelt down in the snow, flipped him over on his back, got a great view of the bright red hole in his chest… and, uh… gave him a speech."

Lu and Mong instantly started guffawing like a pack of hyena-leopards, even though they had clearly heard this story at least several times before, while Yin just sat and smirked. Still, Chi Pa seemed only mildly fazed.

"What do you mean, you gave him a speech?" asked Joro.

Chi Pa sighed, placing his head in his hands for a moment out of embarrassment, and it was becoming clear that he was regretting telling this story, and that he didn't want to continue. Still, he was already halfway there, so he couldn't just stop now.

"I, uh…" he started. "I gave him a dramatic, spirit-related speech before I finished him off. I don't wanna say it, but they're gonna make me do it anyway, so I might as well. I don't remember the whole thing, but I went something like, uh… I know you're sad to be leaving this world… but, if you were a good person, the spirits reward you with good things once you die. So, hopefully, you weren't a shitty person. Otherwise, this really is gonna suck. Or, or something like that. It was much cooler the way I said it. I can't remember exactly how I phrased it."

Now everybody was joining in on the laughter, causing Chi Pa to turn even redder than he already had been while telling the story.

"For fuck's sake, Chi Pa," I snickered. "That's the corniest shit I've ever heard."

"I told you, that was the paraphrased version!" Chi Pa shot back at me.

"I can't think of any version of that that doesn't sound stupid as fuck," I retorted.

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Chi Pa said. "Let's hear your first kill then. I'm sure it's-" Then he stopped himself, having just remembered what my first kill was, and, somehow, his face managed to transform into an even darker shade of red than it already was. "Oh! Shit, I'm sorry, Song. I completely forgot for a second."

"Yeah," I replied, unoffended, but wanting to make him feel bad anyway. "And I'd just like to say that, unless Yin has a more tragic one, which I'm willing to bet on, because, y'know, she's all secretive and emotionally dead inside and shit, that mine puts all of yours to shame. Not just in terms of how hard it was personally, but in terms of how big of a deal my guy was."

"That's fair," said Lu. "Although, we've all still got you outnumbered in terms of how many we've taken out."

"Well," I said. "I've been here for two years now, and you guys have all been here for, like, a hundred. You'll all probably be dead by the time I even get halfway to where you guys are now. Except you, Yin. Young people for the win, am I right?!" I followed this statement with a futile raise of my hand, knowing she wouldn't air high-five me back, but making the gesture anyway.

"Hey," said Chi Pa. "I may not be as young as you two, but I am not old."

"Yeah, I guess you're the exception," I said. "You're pushing fifty, though, so… you're definitely not what I would call young."

"So, I know there's no point in asking this," said Wong, wanting to get back on track. "But what is yours, Yin? Any chance you'll actually tell us?"

"Well, if she won't, I'm sure one of them will," I said, motioning to my other crewmates.

"I'll tell you," said Yin. "It's not like it's a secret or anything."

"Ooh, I can't wait to hear this," I said, practically salivating at the thought of gaining even the tiniest bit of information about Yin.

"Calm down," Yin remarked, her tone coated in an armor of annoyance. "I took out a rat. It was somebody in another crew who had been ripping Qin off. I overheard Gun mentioning it, and I asked to take the job personally. He was impressed with my initiative, so he said yes."

This really shouldn't have surprised me at all. As ice cold as Yin was, this seemed like the normal answer she would've given. But, in that moment, I thought back to the first time we met. That night when she came with me on my first job, and I spent the whole night trying to figure her out. She seemed so innocent to me at first. Like someone who shouldn't be here. Like someone who might've even been in the same situation as me. But I knew now that, in reality, I had just been projecting those qualities onto her. Trying to make myself feel as though I wasn't alone in this thing. That wasn't who she really was, and the fact that I ever could've seen her that way really astonished me. And it was funny. Because now, after two years, she was the only one who wasn't making me feel like I wasn't alone here. The only one I felt so disconnected from.

"So," said Sora. "I guess that's that. If I had to pick the best one, I'd definitely say it's Song's."

"Women," Mong chuckled. "They stick together on everything."

This elicited another round of laughs from all the men present, while us girls, once again, just simply rolled our eyes out of vexation.

"I don't know," said Lu. "I think I've gotta agree with her on this one. I know Song's still a long way from getting to where we all are, but she definitely had the best first kill out of all of us."

"Yeah," said Chi Pa. "I know it was better than mine, at least."

This honestly took me by surprise for a moment for some reason. I obviously knew that I had the best kill, but I just never would've expected any of them to say that. I guess, because the others were all so much more experienced, it seems like they naturally would've beaten me. It was an odd thing to take pride in, and something I never would've taken pride in normally, but considering the piece of shit I killed was, in fact, the biggest piece of shit in all of Republic City, I didn't feel too bad about how much I was beaming.

"Pretty good day for you, huh, Song?" said Mong. "It's not every day you have the honor of being awarded the best first kill in your crew."

"Yep," I said, both befuddled and amused that I was in a position where I could ever consider that making my day good. "Pretty good day."

After having sat out in the freezing cold for pretty much the entire day, I can't even tell you how fucking glad I was to be running up the stairs of my apartment building.

Of course, the cab I had taken home had a busted air conditioner, meaning both that and the heater were on the fritz, and that I still hadn't gotten an opportunity to warm myself up yet. Serves me right for not stopping for some hot cocoa beforehand, like I knew I should've.

Thankfully, though, I had some in my apartment, which prompted me to run up the stairs instead of walking briskly like a normal person might've.

As I ran up the stairs, I couldn't help but think about how great today actually was. There I had been yesterday, bellyaching about that job constantly, not even realizing how much it'd allow me to learn about all my crewmates.

I was also thinking about just how much it tied into that whole alternate dark universe thing I was talking about before. Most people in that situation probably would've talked about their first time getting laid, or their first time… um… I don't know, their first time doing something that didn't involve murder. But there we were. Talking about our first time doing just that. I swear, the parallels just fascinated me.

Finally, I reached my floor, and dashed over to my apartment, fumbling through my pockets for my key. After taking a second to find it, I grabbed a hold of it, jammed it into the lock, twisted it, and noticed something upsetting. The door was already unlocked.

I took a second to chastise myself for forgetting to lock my own door, despite knowing who my enemies were and how many of them were out there. But I took comfort in the fact that there was very likely no one inside. I mean, what were the odds that, on the one occasion that I forgot to lock my door, someone had actually gotten into my apartment?

Pretty great, actually.

Because, once I had finally opened the door, I could see that there was someone standing in my kitchen, drinking some of the scotch I kept in my fridge. And this particular individual was going to be more of a nuisance to me than even my worst enemy would be.

"Fancy meeting you here," quipped the man in my kitchen.

"Hi, Zhang," I said, my tone revealing the frustration I felt at his presence.

Oh, yeah. Zhang was my brother, since you definitely didn't know that already.


End file.
